I Hate Everything About You
by Clairavance
Summary: "Love blinds him, and love is weakness. He will discover that for himself when the time comes. But the truth will out, and he will come after you, guns blazing," Vergil said and flashed a cruel, confident smile that shattered my defence. "it's not the fate of devils to live happily ever after."AU/DantexOC.
1. Secrets

Doof. Doof. Doof.

I have a secret.  
It makes my heart scamper up into my head and scream through my ears whenever I think about it.

Doof. Doof. Doof.

It gives my stomach weird butterflies and it makes me feel like I'm going to pass out. Almost like... like being in love.  
Just... a lot scarier.

Doof. Doof. Doof.

The beat resounded through my chest as I walked through the old Victorian neighbourhood, and down the quiet road that extends far into the Forbidden Fields. I passed naked wickers and sycamores all lined up like a fleet of soldiers on attention. A footpath to my right led by a little mailbox with _Evans_ sprawled across it, and I followed it up to the double story red brick house.

I fished through a pocket for my house key, and glanced at our neighbour's yard over the waist high wall. Resonating thumps echoed from the open windows of their house - there was always some ominous sound coming from there. I never knew what exactly caused the noise, but I could make a couple of guesses.

The Redgrave's house was the only one in the suburb that didn't have a mailbox. It was also the last house on the street; the last house in Metropolis, in fact, although rumour has it that it's actually the first building to have risen on this land. It looked the part anyway – an ancient gothic palace that stood two stories high and spread across acres of land. The bay windows reflected the opaque winter sky like wide blind eyes. It was an intimidating sight. No one ever ventured past those heavy black gates – except for me, and occasionally my mother.

I unlocked our front door and dropped my schoolbag against the wall before doing a quick survey of my home. My brother was in the kitchen with my mother. His ash blonde head was bent over his homework and he was stuffing his face with blueberry muffins. My mom was carefully cutting open a packet with a pair of scissors, and she tipped about a dozen more muffins into a large wooden bowl. Her cinnamon brown hair was taken back in a tight bun, and her green eyes were scrutinizing when she noticed me. She was average in appearance; didn't have the features that would win a second glance or tickle anyone's fancy. I inherited most of my looks from my mother – except for my eyes, which is a combination of amber and brown, like old gold, as my dad called it. It is by deliberate choice that I try and do exactly the opposite of what my mother constantly does. I don't want to be her clone; the more she tries to mould me into her ways, the more I rebel. I already had a role model I was striving to duplicate, and my mother was certainly not her.

"Hi, Cora!" Jason quipped from the table when he spotted me. I offered him my usual I-don't-have-time-to-hang-with-you smile.

"Cora, you're home! I was beginning to worry,"Mom said. She barely spared me another glance, and shoved the bowl across the marble counter at me.

"Why were you worried?" I asked, picking up a muffin and biting into it. I wrinkled my nose and put it back in the bowl. Of course I wasn't expecting an answer, like my higher-than-thou mother would admit one little boy made her jittery, so I changed the subject instead. "I thought you said you were going to bake us a treat, not go to the baker and buy pre-packaged stuff, Mom."

"I don't bake, dear, you know that,"she said with an incredulous twitch of a groomed eyebrow. "I have no time! I have far more important tasks I need to contend with."

"Right." I muttered, pulling out a pair of deep ice cream cups from the cupboard.

"Who's that for?" Jason asked.

"Not you," I replied curtly, and Jason mumbled something I couldn't decipher.

"Have you got any homework, dear?"Mom asked.

"Nope."

"You'd best not be lying to me, Cora."

"I've done all my homework while I was at school already!" I retorted at her warning tone, and crouched down to open the freezer.

"How did you manage that?"

I choked up for a split second. "We had a study period today," I lied. The truth was, I'd gotten held back for detention _again_, and as soon as I finished copying my homework from someone else and the teacher on duty was half dozing, I'd made my great escape. Yes, so I was going to probably get double detention for bailing on detention, who cared? Tomorrow was going to take care of itself. Right now I had bigger things to worry about. I felt my heart sink at the sight of frozen meats and vegetables.

"Oh, all right then, dear, but your friend..."

"Where's the ice cream?" I exploded, turning to glare at my mother. "Did you forget to buy it?"

"It's right in front of you, stupid," my brother snapped from the table.

I turned back, blinking hard, and felt disbelief colour my face. So it was – it was bigger than I'd thought it would be. I tugged the three litre tub from the freezer, sending ice crumbs scattering across the tiled floor, and put it on the counter with a relieved sigh. "Thank you, mommy! You're the best!" I said, giving her a brief hug before scavenging the drawer for spoons.

"Now, Cora, your friends can't stay too long. I have a tea party at four this afternoon," Mom drawled.

"My friends?" I asked, giving her a stumped look while I snatched the bowl of strawberries and a bottle of strawberry syrup from the fridge. My mind took a nose dive as I wrecked my memory. Did I have a date set with Lorry that I'd somehow forgotten about? "Mother, what are you talking about?"

I scooped my loot into my arms and hurried to the lounge, my mother in tow. She watched me disapprovingly set the treats out on the floor and prep my video game console.

"Those boys you're getting all excited about," Mom said pointedly.

A flash of relief made me nearly slump over - my friends would never let me live it down if I forgot that I'd invited them over - and then my mother's words registered in my head. "Sheesh, Mom, are you delusional? Dante's not my _friend_, and his brother wouldn't come here because I don't even know him! I'm doing this because Eva asked me to," I added when my mother opened her mouth, probably to chastise me for calling her delusional, "she wanted Dante out of the house this afternoon because she's planning a surprise for his birthday. The only reason why he's coming over is because I promised him the freedom to eat as many sundaes as he wants."

"Right. Well." Mom said with a dainty sniff - a tell-tale sign that she had no interest in the subject - and left me to set up the room in peace.

Everybody has secrets.  
Some are insignificant like sneaking an extra smoke break, some are innocent and good intentional, like Eva organizing a surprise birthday bash for Dante and Vergil. Others are dirty and have the power to act as catalysts, like the husband who cheats on his wife, or the all-American boy next door who turns out to be gay. The thing with secrets are that sooner or later, one way or the other, they leak out.

My little brother, Jason, is the only one in my family who has sane, normal secrets. He binges at night, occasionally sneaks some cash from the cookie jar, and has a major crush on my best friend, Lorry.  
My dad works from home, locks himself in the study all day and only comes out at night. He says he works in the intelligent technology industry and is developing some new computer software for Microsoft. Confidential stuff – he's big on not getting distracted while he works. Truth is he's running an underground organisation that's all anti-demon. They're strategising and training to take out the only full blooded demon left in the world, because they don't like the idea of a demon 'ruling' over mankind.

The doorbell rang way too soon, plucking me out of my musings. I wiped my hands on my skirts and climbed to my feet, drawing in deep breaths of air to brace myself. Yes, I was a little bit nervous since I've never actually talked to Dante unless Eva was present. I was also very pessimistic about how this afternoon was going to go down. Dante and I didn't talk much, for good reason. We didn't exactly get along. But mostly, I was afraid. If you met him in person, you'd be pretty scared, too. There was just...something about him.

I opened the front door and stepped aside at the grumpy look the tall blonde boy gave me. I gestured him inside in a 'let's get this over with' way. His cold blue eyes were alert and hard, darting around as I closed the front door. I straightened my shoulders and held my head high as I led the way to the lounge. So what if he was a giant compared to me? This was my house and I would walk tall, just to show him that I wasn't afraid of him. But I could feel his frigid gaze on my back. He must be made of ice or something, because I got chills every time he looked at me. Which wasn't all that often. When we got to the lounge, he looked more interested in the eccentric ornaments my mother used to decorate our home.

We settled on the floor in front of the television, and played a few games in silence. There wasn't much conversation to be made. You see, I tried to be nice to Dante when we first moved into our house. That was a good few years ago, when I was five or six or something, so I can't remember exactly what was said. All I remember was how nasty Dante had been to me and how awful he'd made me feel for trying to be his friend. Vergil hadn't been welcoming to my friendship either and decided to ignore me, but at least he hadn't been as outright mean to me as Dante had been. The memory of my hurt feelings is what kept me from trying to meet him half-way.

I kept glancing at the clock on the wall, and Dante kept throwing random pauses into our game play to top up his ice cream. We were halfway through Fraxy, and the tub was starting to look close to empty, when Dante paused the game again. He turned to me, for the first time actually acknowledging my presence beside him, and gave me an unnerving grin.

"Your mom's not very fond of demons, is she?"

"Watcha mean?" I asked, glancing at him from the corner of my eye as I readjusted my grip on my controller.

"Protection charms," he nodded at the items hanging from the walls.

"How'd you know?" I frowned, eyeing the silver and black marble statues adorning our lounge with new perspective.

"C'mon, Carry. How could I not know?" Dante's icy eyes flashed incredulously, and he dropped his controller on the carpet before climbing to his feet. "Tch, never mind. I don't wanna be where I'm not welcome anyway."

By the time I'd turned in his direction, he was already down the hallway. I heard him snort and mumble something inaudible. "See you tomorrow!" I called after him. The front door slammed shut sharply in reply.

The time read five to four. I gathered the dishes and went to dump them in the kitchen sink. Mom was brewing something in a pot on the stove. The sweet pungent odour nearly made me gag.

"What is that?" I asked.

"Sage," Mom said, and smiled at me.

"What are you boiling it for? It's stinking up the whole house."

"It chases away bad spirits, dear," Mom sighed, and added hastily, "I read it in the local newspaper. Has your friend gone home already?"

"It's four o'clock, so yeah. It's dinner time for them."

"How rude. He didn't even say goodbye."

"Would it have mattered?" I asked with a grunt. Dante wasn't exactly a pro in the polite manners forte. It made no difference to me, since I was subjected to it day after day and have come to not even notice it, but for those who didn't know the Redgrave family...yeah, Dante was one rude little brat.

"I don't know what this world is coming to," Mom huffed to herself.

My mom's secret is that she's a witch; one who has quite a problem with anything and everything demonic. This unfortunately included my beloved cartoons such as Wile E. Coyote and He-Man, for reasons that still went beyond my logic. I still watched my shows whenever I went to visit Eva. This is one little secret I have, but it's not _the_ secret I have.

Dante is half-demon. And no, that's not his secret. Everybody knows him and his twin are half-breeds. Remember the demon my dad was planning to take down? That's Dante's dad. He's our next door neighbour.

I was a bit worried about it when I first discovered what scheming was going on. Worried enough to actually scrape together enough guts to go next door and address Sparda about it. He'd been sparring with Vergil in their enormous sound-proof ballroom. I'd almost turned around and ran back home when I saw them. Not that the sparring was that scary, but there was something about Sparda... it was the same _something_ about Dante that scared me. Like, what you see isn't really what you get from them. Sparda had been swinging a lethal looking sword at a kid three times smaller and skinnier than him with ferocious force – it would have made anybody twitch with tension. The only reason I hadn't run off right away was because Vergil is dazzling at sword play; blocking the hits swiftly and launching his own attacks. It was magnetic to watch. Captivating.

When Sparda had spotted me, he'd stopped in mid-attack and lowered his sword almost guiltily.  
"Cora, I didn't know you were coming by," he'd said half apologetically. Really, it was easy to tell he was unhappy at my intrusion.

Sparda liked to make himself scarce when his wife had people over. Eva was the only one in their household who would invite guests. She's human, and needed that interaction. Her sons, like their father, preferred not to mingle with society. Or maybe it's because society didn't want to mingle with them. I know I definitely wasn't going over to their house to visit _them_.

"My dad's planning on attacking you and killing you," I'd blurted out. So, my middle name wasn't tact back then. It's amazing how stupid people can be when they're afraid.

"What?" Vergil had straightened up, alert, his grip on the katana shifting.

But Sparda had laughed, putting a large hand on my shoulder and steering me from the room.  
"Thanks for telling me, Cora. But you don't need to worry, I'll take care of it."

"But... no, I don't want you to do anything to him!" I'd protested in a panic.

"Then why did you tell me?"

"Because I don't want you to hurt him! He's just a man," I'd pleaded.

And Sparda's smirk had disappeared, and he'd looked pensive. "You're right. He is just a man. I won't hurt your father, Cora."

"You promise?"

"I promise. Just..." Sparda had leaned closer, and smiled disconcertingly. "Don't tell Dante."

I had already known not to tell him, of course. That's why I'd told Sparda instead. He was, ironically, less frightening to convey this secret to than Dante was – for all I knew Dante might have spontaneously erupted into a hail of bullets if he'd heard someone wanted to hurt his family.

Back to secrets.  
I knew what Dante and Vergil's secret was. Not the juicy details of the boys being trained and moulded into young warriors within the confines of the Redgrave fortress. That wasn't a secret, not to me at least. Living next door to them, it wasn't uncommon to hear gunshots very often. I'd get worried when it was too quiet for too long.

Their secret was that at night when everyone else was wrapped in dreamland, they'd hit the streets and take out the rogue demons still hanging around. The demons were too scared of Sparda to come out during the day, but they risked it at night – and the sons of Sparda would always be waiting for them.

That was another secret all on its own, the fact that there were still demons. People; believers, hypocrites and nonbelievers alike; were all of the I'll-believe-it-when-I-see-it-sort. No one saw the monsters that came out at night. But I did.

I knew the truth. That's my secret.

I spent the next hour rushing through my chores at home; feed the fish, tidy my room, sweep the floor, do the dishes; the usual painful duties of any seven year old. I helped my mother set the table, plunking down the knives and forks with hasty disregard. Jason gave me a look from his little peasant seat at the bottom of the table. My mother didn't seem happy with me either.

"I made Macaroni and cheese," she said coaxingly.

"Oh. That's nice," I said distractedly and went to fetch the jug of orange juice from the fridge. When I got back to the dining room, my father had appeared and was seated on his throne at the head of the table.

"I see you've finally found your way home," Dad said light-heartedly.

"Ha, very funny, Dad," I muttered, carefully placing the jug in the centre of the table. "That one never gets old."

"Heard your mother made your favourite dish for supper," he said, his black moustache twitching.

On cue, my mother materialized beside me with a large round casserole between her oven-gloved hands. She lifted off the lid, and the delicious aroma of melted cheese pulled my head into a cloud of hunger.

"Auw, mom, you shouldn't have," I said. My father's eyebrows arched in surprise, and my mother smiled triumphantly. "No, really, you shouldn't have. I'm having dinner next door."

"That's nothing new," Jason mumbled and I gave him an eat-death glare.

"Are they expecting you?"Mom asked with a slight scowl.

"Yeah! I'll see you guys later," I said, snatching one hot noodle from the casserole before making a break for it.

"You little devil..." Mom chided after me.

I glanced over my shoulder a couple of times as I practically skipped down our footpath, expecting one of them to follow me and call me back. They were getting fed up with not seeing me around the house much, I could tell. No one chased after me though, and I made it safely to the neighbour's front door. It was unlocked, as it always was. So, maybe they didn't exactly invite me over for dinner, but Eva might be expecting me. She'd always been very hospitable to me.

Their dining room with the enormous mahogany table was void of life. This is what I liked about having dinner with the Redgrave family. If Eva knew for certain I was coming over, she would have had the table set out with their best silverware. When she wasn't sure, she didn't put in the effort, mostly because Sparda told her not to bother, I think.

It wasn't surprising to find them all relaxed in the family den like every other ordinary family. The television was turned down and displaying a rerun of the History Channel. Eva and the boys were sitting on the long plush couch; Vergil slouched to the side, elbow on the armrest and chin on his fist, half asleep; Eva doing golden embroidery work on a royal blue coat; Dante fast asleep with his head on Eva's lap and his long legs spread across Vergil's lap, feet dangling over the edge. Sparda was in his armchair, as always, with one leg up to balance his plate loaded with food. Possibly his third plate, if I had to guess. Just like every other ordinary family - only they were anything but ordinary. There were weird vibes from Dante and Vergil. Maybe it was their colouring; the too pale blonde hair, the sharp blue eyes... I've never seen anybody with eyes like theirs. Maybe it was the way they looked at a person, or... maybe it was just human intuition, knowing that what was looking back at you was of the supernatural sort. The vibes were stronger from Sparda. He had the face and dress of an aristocrat, but when he moved and when he spoke, you just _knew_ there was something dangerous beneath the polished exterior.

"Hello," Sparda sighed without looking away from the television.

Vergil blinked and sent a funny look at Sparda before noticing me in the doorway. Eva looked up and smiled at me warmly. It was the only prompt I needed to relax.

"Your food is in the oven, sweetie."

"Thanks," I grinned and wandered down the hallway to the kitchen at the back of the house.

"You made it just in time," Sparda said behind me. I jumped at his voice, and tried to hide my fright by fussing with my dinner. "Another five minutes and you would have gone to bed hungry."

"You would have eaten my dinner?" I asked in disbelief, staring up at him with round eyes.

"First come first served, Cora," Sparda said with a wink. Okay, so as scary as Sparda was, he did have his charms. Every now and then.

He slipped his empty plate into the sink, and I followed him back to the family den. I made myself comfortable on the carpet next to the coffee table as Sparda leaned over to whisper something into Eva's ear. Eva smiled up at him, and Sparda sighed.

I stared when he picked Dante up with one hand, and carried him under his arm like a piece of limp baggage.

"Sparda, be careful!" Eva scolded, sitting up straight and dropping her embroidery on her lap.

"He's fine. The kid can sleep through the next apocalypse," Sparda waved her back dismissively and disappeared from the room.

"I'm going to bed, too," Vergil muttered. He pecked Eva on the cheek. "G'night."

"Goodnight, son," Eva said when he left the room, and she smiled at me warmly. "How was your day, Cora?"

"Fine. I got detention again."

"What for this time?"

"Nothing, I think they just like my company at school."

Eva shook her head worriedly. "What has your mother got to say about this?"

"I got my homework done, so she thinks it's good," I shrugged.

"_Cora_."

I shrugged again at her warning tone. "My mom's too busy with her own life to care what I do with mine."

"I'm sure that's not true."

"I'm sure it is. You make the best pumpkin fritters, Eva," I said, lifting one off my plate and biting into it.

Sparda returned to the room and reclined back in his armchair with a soft grunt. There was a tranquil silence in the room while we watched Captain Cook sailing the seas on screen. My thoughts were on how Dante had managed to pass out before everyone else with all that sugar from this afternoon loaded into his system. I'd seen Jason after a double scooped ice cream, and he always bounced off the walls for a good hour afterward.

Sparda cleared his throat. "Don't you have a family of your own to terrorize?"

I looked back at him, wide eyed. "Huh?" I choked out.

"Sparda," Eva fixed him with a strained look, and sighed at me. "It's getting late, Cora. You should go home, you've got school in the morning."

"Yes, ma'am," I said quietly. I offered to stay and help with the dishes, but Eva steered me toward the front door with a firm hand and an even firmer _'goodnight, Cora'_.

A glance at my wristwatch told me that it was nearing ten. There was no wind, and the silent darkness of the night was unnerving. My house was equally dark and quiet when I slipped inside and made my way to my room.

I was going through my closet looking for my black sweater, trying to be as quiet as I possibly could, when a rustling right outside my open window caught my attention. _Friggin' crazy squirrels_, I thought, and snatched my jersey off the hanger. I bent down to scoop up my old black trainers, and in my mirror I caught a glimpse of something white right outside my window. I turned and hurled one of my trainers at it.

"Ouch!"

I tiptoed over to my window and frowned at the boy outside in complete disbelief. "What are you _doing_?"

"I'm making sure you're home." The curt response came. Vergil rubbed his head and picked my shoe up off the grass. He planted it on my windowsill. Or, at least I think it was Vergil. I saw no reason why Dante would want to come snoop around outside my house at night, considering how thrilled he was to be inside of it earlier. Still, seeing Vergil standing in the moonlight right outside my window was enough to make my stomach churn. He had even less reason to be here, unless, of course, he knew about my secret.

"Are you spying on me?" I accused.

"_I'm making sure you're home,_" Vergil repeated flatly, and walked away.

He disappeared into the night, and I squirmed inwardly. He had to be on to me. Why else would he want to know where I was? I stood indecisively for a moment, then with quick resolve, I jerked on my sweater and slipped on my shoes. I snuck out of my window and headed into the heart of the city, taking the brightly lit main roads. They couldn't be on to me. There was no way they could know for sure, anyway. They took the small dark alleys to get around, I took the main road – just because I was in the city at night didn't mean anything. It wasn't suspicious. Well, it wasn't _that_ suspicious.

I slowed down when I approached the central courtyard of the city, and ducked into the undercover parking beneath one of the business buildings surrounding it. I hurried across the abandoned lot, glancing around, alert. My trainers were silent on the concrete.

I caught a whiff of strong sulphur, and crouched down beside a vent in the wall. The screws were lose and came out easily. I momentarily froze when I heard an ominous growl – something was either in the lot with me, or it was right outside. I scuttled into the ventilation tunnel, scraping my legs and palms in my rush, and readjusted the vent cover behind me. I stayed rooted there for a moment, waiting for my pulse to stop racing, and then I scrambled along the tunnel until I reached the first vent that went straight up to the top of the building. I straightened to my feet in the narrow square, and hauled myself up into the next tunnel. I leopard crawled forward in the pitch blackness until a draft told me I was close to my favourite spot.

Then I was there. I pulled out my mobile phone wedged in my pocket, and turned on the camera. I found a good aim between the vent slots and zoomed in, and waited. Roman was going to freak out when I showed him this tomorrow. Stuff him for telling me demons weren't real – what did he know? He was going to have to cough up a hundred bucks for me, because he was so going to lose that bet. _A hundred bucks_! The things I could do with a hundred bucks...

My reverie was cut short when a loud howl outside made me start. A tall, ugly purple thing climbed from the well in the courtyard. I pushed the record button on my phone, and waited with bated breath. It looked like a man, or a very tall man, with no facial features. It stood for a moment, hunched forward, swinging its small head on its long neck from side to side, and then it exploded into tiny black things. Another howl rented the air, and a second purple man lifted out of the well. It melted into a large yellow pool the second it was on the ground, and the millions of tiny black things leapt into the gunk. I watched the two things start to do a spinning display, merging together and building into something bigger.

I would have thought they'd be there by now. Sometimes they already were hanging around the well, waiting. Sometimes a couple of demon packs would have blundered into the city streets before they showed up.

The odour of sulphur became suffocating and made my eyes tear up like onions did. The gunk had shaped into what could have been a giant slug, or maybe a dragon – I couldn't tell which. It was hideous, all the same. And scary. This time when it howled, it made my teeth clatter together and poked into my ears like spikes.

My fear was short lived. The howling changed into a screech when two kids rounded the corner and came face to face with the enormous monster. There was an instant of hesitation; confusion on the demon's part because neither kid ran away screaming, and expectation on their part. One of them spoke, from this distance I couldn't hear or tell who it was, but the demon burst into maniacal laughter. Another word was spoken – I was pretty sure this time it was Dante, because the demon retaliated and launched its attack on them with an aggravated roar.

They were an exhilarating spectacle to watch. Dante wielded two guns, and Vergil did closer combat with the katana. Under any other circumstances, if you saw two seven year old kids walking around with dangerous weapons in the dead of night, you'd call the authorities and have them dragged to juvie. But they were flawless as a team, brandishing their weapons with brilliant expertise. Insanely good. They never got hurt by any of the demons from what I could tell. Well, I've never seen a scratch on them, at any rate.

The battle lasted under a minute, which was good for me because my phone's video time only allowed me to record for a maximum of two minutes anyway. Dante sent the demon sprawling backward with a few well planted bullets in its head, and Vergil streaked around the falling demon. There was a bright flash, and then he was walking up to join his brother's side. They were looking at each other indifferently, Dante still aiming his guns at the demon. They turned toward the demon in unison.

"Jackpot."

Dante fired another shot at the demon the instant Vergil sheathed his sword. Yellow slime exploded everywhere, even reaching as far up as to splatter against the vent I was hiding behind. A few tiny drops hit my phone, and my fingers, and I wiped the acidic gunk off frantically.

"I'll get more than you tonight," Dante's voice drifted up faintly.

"I don't keep count," Vergil said.

"Maybe you should. It'll make this more fun."

"I'm not here to have fun," Vergil said. "I just want to get this done and go home and sleep."

"We haven't even started yet," Dante said, leaning over the side of the well to peer down into it.

"Dante, don't-"

"Demons are so weak anyway," Dante said loudly. "Why should they scare us? Just because we're kids doesn't make us helpless."

"Dante," Vergil sighed.

"Besides, they're all losers. They were outwitted and outplayed by Sparda, what m-" Dante broke off when a flood of bright light suddenly erupted from the well. He smirked and stepped away from it, nodding happily. "Yeah, now _this_ is more like it!"

"You," Vergil said, shaking his head. He stepped forward, ready to draw the katana from its scabbard. "I wanted to call in an early night."

"You can sleep when you're dead one day," Dante said playfully, "'sides, Father will just send our butts back out here if we got home any earlier than dawn."

"Right," Vergil muttered under his breath. Dante's grin spread to Vergil's face. "Well, at least we'll be doing something fun."

"Now we're ready to party," Dante said, and levelled his guns at the overflow of demons bursting forth from the light.

How they could ever move that fast and stay in synch was beyond me. I was lucky to actually see them strike down a demon, but mostly all I saw was demons turning into dust all of a sudden or unexpectedly exploding into pieces. Vergil killed off the last cluster with a few accurate swipes of his sword.

Dante holstered his guns and let out a low whistle."I got twenty one. How many'd you get?"

"I don't keep count, I told you," Vergil said, sheathing the katana.

"Tch, what was the point then?" Dante said unhappily.

"To prove how dense you are?" Vergil suggested, and chuckled when Dante punched him in the gut."I'm kidding. I got forty two."

"Liar. There were only thirty demons."

"Only thirty you could see."

"So why could you see the others and I couldn't?"

"Because I killed them before you knew they were there."

Dante puckered his lips and arched an eyebrow, thinking it over. "Yeah, okay. I'll beat your score next time. Nice coat, by the way."

Vergil wiped the yellow ooze off the blue material in disgust.

"It matches your personality. Ice Cube Vergil."

"Flaming idiot," Vergil retorted.

If it hadn't been for the sulphur making me want to gag, I would have stayed longer. As it were, the time was going past midnight, I had to get up for school in another eight hours, and I had the teeny weeny little problem of getting out of this place without the boys spotting me. I crawled my way back through the darkness until I was finally back in the parking lot. And then I ran for all I was worth.

I wasn't completely stupid. I knew they could smell me, and I knew the faster I got away from this place, the less chance there was of them connecting my scent to my persona. Sparda had once told me he could smell me coming from a mile away, because his senses were more sensitive than the boys'. He could tell the difference between man and demon, boy and girl, going on his sense of smell alone. He also said I had distinct scent like wild berries.

Well, I was going to be one really dead wild berry if Dante or Vergil caught onto me. There was a curfew in place for the city residents, enforced by Sparda himself. Anyone who broke it was in deep trouble, if they lived to see the next day.

I made a clean getaway, at least. I climbed through my bedroom window and dropped onto my bed, completely exhausted – and completely content with the footage I'd caught on camera.

One hundred bucks was mine.

A/N:  
**_Find me on Facebook under Clairavance_**


	2. A Common Interest

**REVISED!**

* * *

"But I don't _have_ a hundred bucks!" I gaped at Roman.

He pushed a hand through his unruly dark hair and looked at me with the deep blue eyes that had girls clamouring to be his 'best friend'. I glanced from his apologetic expression to the faint sneer on Lorry's fair features and down at my ruined phone. I hadn't realised just how bad the damage was the night before, that the acid had somehow gotten into my phone and fried my memory card. All that footage... but it wasn't so much the loss of the footage as it was the humiliating realisation that I couldn't cough up my end of the bargain.

"You knew you wouldn't catch anything," Lorry said, and right then I wanted to burst into tears. Of course Lorry wouldn't be my friend right now. She was still mad at me for becoming friends with Roman when we were in little school a couple of years ago. Better friends than she was with him.

"But I _did_," I protested weakly, and fought against the tears suddenly blinding me.

"It's okay, Cora. Don't worry about it, I didn't expect anything anyway," Roman said soothingly. "It was a stupid bet to make."

His face was blurry and I felt my face heat up. "I'm not lying! Roman, I had it, I really did!"

"Sure you did..." Lorry started.

"Do you want to come over to my place? Dad's nearly finished building the tree-house," Roman interrupted.

I considered it for a moment and sighed. "No. That's okay. Maybe tomorrow or something."

"Okay, tomorrow it is then. Do you want me to walk you home?"

"But her house is at the end of town!" Lorry exclaimed unhappily.

"You don't have to come," Roman said, playfully messing up Lorry's silky sheet of blonde hair. She clapped his hand away with a pout and tried to smooth her hair back down.

"It's okay, really, I just... I'll see you guys tomorrow," I said over my shoulder, already making my way homeward. I didn't want them to see me crying, and I couldn't hold my tears back. All that last night...and for nothing! Just to embarrass myself... and be called a liar. Next thing I know they'll be calling me a freak. Or the weirdo. Or something worse than that, but I didn't want to think about anything worse. Liar was painful enough.

I barely saw my house when I finally trudged past it. Mom wouldn't offer any comfort, if she was even home and not at another 'social gathering'. Dad wouldn't spare me a moment to come out of his study and listen to my problems. And Jason was such a little loser, he wasn't even an option. If anything, he'd just make me feel worse because according to everyone else, there was no such thing as demons. That's what had me make the bet in the first place, to prove everyone wrong for a change.

The front door to the Redgrave house was unlocked, as it always was. I closed the heavy wood door behind me, wiping at the warm tears still streaking down my face, and shrugged off my backpack onto the smooth polished floor. I started for the family den, where Eva usually spent her afternoons either reading, or doing needle work, or painting. She was often doing one or the other motherly craft. I halted in my tracks when I heard the familiar tones of my mother's voice, and wiped angrily at the wetness on my cheeks. I redirected my course right past the den, down the broad hallway past the spiralling grand staircase, and into the back of the house where the massive kitchen was situated. I didn't want to face Mom right now. It was easier not to cry in front of her when I decided to be angry at her for not caring instead, but I wouldn't pull it off with Eva in the same room. Eva need only look at me and I knew I'd be crying my eyes out all over again.

I was heading for the backdoor to go take refuge beneath one of the trees, away from everyone and everything, but caught myself on the threshold to the kitchen suddenly. The boys were there – Dante sitting on the little island, one long leg dangling over the edge, the other bent and propped beneath him. One huge silver gun was on the counter beside him, and he was twirling another similar black gun lazily in his hand. Vergil was loading a tray with cups and a teapot with steamy wisps curling out from the spout.

"...if you can take out more with a bullet. And I've got lots of bullets," Dante was saying.

"I still think it's the dope way out. You need stamina to slice a sword through anything, especially through the scaly ones," Vergil said, fishing through a drawer before retrieving a couple of teaspoons.

"But you can predict which way the sword is coming at you by the person's posture. You can't dodge raining bullets," Dante said, extending his arm and pointing the barrel of his gun at Vergil's back.

"Maybe, but with a sword you're getting physically toned. Besides, what if your gun gets backed up or something?" Vergil asked, turning around. His brow furrowed briefly when he looked at the gun, and he shrugged Dante's weapon away with his shoulder dismissively.

"Dude, that's why I've got two," Dante snorted.

"And what if you run out of bullets, then what are you going to do?"

"Uh... run?"

"Might is everything, Dante. If you don't have strength, you can't protect anyone. Not even yourself," Vergil said with a shake of his ice-blonde head. He pushed his hair back from his forehead and looked expectantly at his brother.

"Hey, I'm strong enough to take you down," Dante huffed back indignantly.

"Really?" Vergil paused and gave Dante an amused, half-challenging stare.

"I'd take you down now if mom wasn't home," Dante said with a smirk.

"Heh. Pitiful excuse, brother."

"Pitiful house rules, you mean," Dante retorted.

"Why can't you just leave your little toys out for one day? Just try go at it with Rebellion and naught else?" Vergil asked.

"What if I need a second to catch my breath?" Dante joked.

"Then you're dead."

"Bullets go further than a blade. I can take out demons ten feet away from me."

"_I _can take out demons ten feet away from me," Vergil echoed meaningfully.

"Well why don't you try using my method first? Maybe then I'll give yours a try."

I started to back away from the kitchen. Vergil's serious expression and Dante's cocky spiteful grin was a sure enough sign that they'd been arguing for a while. I didn't want to get caught walking in on them, especially since Dante was likely to say something stupid like calling me a cry baby...  
The thought alone made more tears fill my eyes.

"I don't understand how we can be so different when we are so much alike!" Vergil was saying.

"I'd try to make sense of what you just said... but it might make me go crazy and I'll end up exactly like you."

"Spare the banter, Dante, I'm being serious."

"So am I!"

Vergil let out an exasperated breath and started to speak when his pale blue eyes fell on me. My breath froze in my chest. Dante turned his head toward me, and the cheeky smile wavered from his lips.

"Hi," Vergil said after a beat of silence.

"I didn't mean to..." I said, sniffed, and stopped when my voice cracked. I pinched my eyes closed and felt a fresh flood of tears run down my cheeks. I gave a curt wave at them and retreated a step. "Never mind."

"Ah, you see, brother," Dante's voice was suddenly beside me and I nearly whipped into the doorframe in fright. "Your stubborn belief that a sword can do more damage than a sword _and_ guns has made poor Carla cry."

I tensed when he put his arm around my shoulders, and blinked away my tears when he pointed his finger at me. "See this face? This is how I'm feeling on the inside."

Vergil steadily looked at me before pursing his lips and staring at Dante. "You're crying like a little girl on the inside?"

Dante opened his mouth to respond, and then shut it firmly with a sour look at his brother. "Very funny."

"My name is not Carla," I added, and won an annoying pat on my head from Dante.

"Besides, she's more likely to be crying in fear of seeing you twirling your gun around like a cheer-stick," Vergil added icily, "Mother told you not to leave your things lying around, Dante."

"I'm not leaving it lying around..."

"And you're not supposed to tote it around like a clown either," Vergil finished.

"Shut up. I didn't know she was coming over," Dante shot back, stepping away from me and hiding the gun behind his back.

Vergil fixed him with a look, and turned that same look on me. "Why _are_ you crying? Did Sparda say something to you?"

I shook my head blankly and wiped at my wet cheeks again. "What? No, I haven't seen him."

"Oh," Vergil said, and scowled at me. "Well then if Sparda is not to blame for your persistent snivelling, quit it. I don't like it."

"I don't care!" I hurled back at him, fighting back another wave. "I've had a bad day and I have bad friends and life sucks so just shut up!"

"Wow," Dante said with a chuckle, leaning against the doorframe beside me with pure glee. "That's gotta be the most words you've ever said to us. And here I was thinking you were mute."

"Just..." I started, suddenly angry at the devil-may-care grin he flashed at me.

"Shut up," Vergil cut in. For a second I thought he was talking to me, but he was glaring at Dante as he picked up the carefully arranged tray. "You still don't understand what it is to be chivalrous, do you?"

Dante pulled a face and shrugged. "What did I do?"

"Nothing your logic will grasp," Vergil muttered, and stepped closer to me with the tray. "Do something productive and take this through to the family den, girl."

"I have a name, y'know. And I'm your guest," I said, taken aback.

"So much for being chivalrous," Dante taunted with a chuckle.

"It will take your mind off things if you keep yourself occupied, and my mother is good with... these things," Vergil said with a harsh breath and shoved the tray into my arms. "Don't make me tell you twice."

I was spun around and firmly steered out of the kitchen. Behind me I heard Dante snort.

"Still. Don't judge it before you've tried it," Dante said.

"Please, brother, I thought we were done with this discussion."

"It'll never be over until you at least try it..."

I carefully made my way to the family den, glad that at least the trauma of being dragged into their argument had stopped my tears. What had he meant about Sparda anyway? Why would he have made me cry? Sparda always tried to avoid the downstairs rooms of the house when I was here.

But one thing did make sense; Eva _was_ good at making people feel better. It was one of the things that kept me coming over here more times than should be healthy.  
Now, don't get me wrong – I love my mom to death. But if anyone would ever substitute in her place, it would be Eva.

She was sitting on one of the plush leather couches in the family den, wearing a simple grey dress that came down to her ankles. She had the most beautiful blonde hair I've ever seen; it hung down her back to her hips, shimmering like corn silk. She had the same blue eyes her sons did, but where they radiated a distant aloofness, Eva sent out different vibes.

There was just something about her that lit up the room. A sort of serenity that emanated from within her, the kind of feeling that set you at ease and made you never want to leave it behind. She was the warmest, kindest, and most gentle person to ever walk the earth.

What she was doing in a house full of cold-hearted demons was still a mystery.  
I bit my tongue and strained to put the tray down carefully on the smooth glass surface of the coffee table. I'm prone to knocking things over, so my nerves were high strung not to spill tea on the black furry carpet.

"...sometimes worry whether I made the right decision with keeping them here. But it's important that they know their heritage." Eva was saying as I handed her a cup. Her eyes glanced a brief, quiet 'thank you' at me.

"I can imagine. Don't stress yourself so much, Eva, you're doing a splendid job," my mom responded.

I handed her a cup of tea, and got absolutely no acknowledgement for it. Of course, I wouldn't. When in adult company, my mom was old school – the whole children should be seen and not heard concept. I noted that there were three cups but only two grown-ups. I hesitated for a second, making sure there was no third handbag placed around the couch somewhere, before picking up the third cup. Had they expected me to come over? Obviously Vergil had known I was coming because he didn't have his sword on him – maybe he could smell me like Sparda did? But that was kind of...strange, that they would make me a cup of tea, as well. Unless Eva had asked them to. Yeah, that must be it.

I silently settled down on the soft carpet at my mother's feet. I wasn't allowed to sit on the couch, because I might 'ruin' it. I still wonder what my mom's reaction would be if she saw the things Vergil and Dante did to furniture in this house.

"Children need to spend their time at home," Mom continued.

"I don't know..." Eva started.

"It's good, Eva. It strengthens the kinship between them. Heavens know, I would love to have Cora and Jason work on their friendship a lot harder. They avoid one another at school like the plague, because of society. It's not a popular notion to be seen talking to your closest relation," Mom cut in.

"It's not?" Eva asked, startled.

"According to peer pressure, it's not. With their social lives being completely separate as well, it's quite difficult to get them to interact with each other. I sometimes want to ground Cora from coming over so often – I know what a handful the child can be."

I sent an alarmed look at my mom, and opened my mouth to defend my cause, when Eva beat me to it.

"Oh, don't be silly, Megan," Eva chided lightly. "I love having Cora around. She's the only child in town who isn't afraid to come over, and the boys enjoy her company, too. I do believe they grow tired of one another, spending every waking moment together. It's no harm to have her here."

I tried to suppress a snort when she mentioned the boys enjoying my company. I couldn't, and I ended up making a choking coughing noise, and going bright red in the face when I felt her eyes on me.

"Hmm. Perhaps, if her being here does any good. It keeps her out of trouble. I suppose it's better that she's somewhere safe rather than gallivanting around town with those no-good friends of hers," Mom sighed dramatically, and got a jolt when a faint ringing echoed through the room.

I let my breath out quietly when she fished around her purse and finally brought forth a tiny, flat silver phone. Any other day I would have stepped up for my friends and made Mom feel guilty for classing the poorer families as 'no-good', but today I felt a pang of glee at the derogatory comment. Specifically toward Lorry. What kind of friend was she to call me a liar, anyway? I glanced toward the large bay window framed with thick gold velvet curtains, and did a double take at the boy stretched out on the window bunk. He was half obscured by the throw pillows strewn around him, and was throwing a cricket ball into the air. He caught it, and as if he felt my eyes on him, he turned his head to look at me. I still didn't know whether Vergil had the ability to teleport, or whether he was just skilfully stealthy and discreet upon entering a room. I avoided his gaze by quickly looking at my mother, who was gesturing with her manicured hand as she spoke.

"Oh, gosh. I completely forgot about Penelope's garden tea party..." Mom started, staring at the phone with yet another exaggerated expression.

"That's quite all right, Megan, I understand," Eva said reassuringly.

"Eva, are you certain?" Mom said as they got to their feet and started for the door.

"Of course I am," Eva said.

"Why don't you come with me? Penelope would love to see you, and you're cooped up in this house far too much," Mom said, turning to face her when they reached the front door.

"I'd love to, really, but the timing doesn't suit for today. I'm sorry," Eva said earnestly.

"No. _I'm_ sorry," Mom sighed, shaking her head. "Eva, you need to get out more."

"I know. I will. Just not today."

"I'll stop by tomorrow morning and we'll discuss this further, all right? I'm very late... we'll talk again soon," Mom's voice floated back from down the footpath.

I climbed to my feet and put my cup down when Vergil sat up.

"Mother, you should go with her," Vergil said before Eva even had the door properly closed.

"You know I can't, son."

"Why? Because it's almost feeding time?" Vergil asked in disdain.

I glanced from him to the impressive grandfather clock ticking against the wall beside me. The long arm of the clock was edging toward the twelve. Four o'clock wasn't far away.

"Please don't start this with me again," Eva sighed helplessly, fleeing from the den toward the kitchen.

Vergil and I followed in pursuit.

"He won't starve to death, you know," I said.

"You can't run your life to fit in schedule with _him_," Vergil said.

"If you really want, I can make him supper while you go out," I offered.

"You can cook?" Vergil asked, blinking at me as if he hadn't really noticed me next to him before.

"Pfft. Who said anything about cooking? I'm talking candyfloss and ice cream. It's not like he eats anything else."

"Touché," Vergil said, arching his eyebrows.

"Dante won't eat any food unless I'm the one cooking it," Eva said over her shoulder.

"He can fix himself something if he's really that hungry," Vergil protested as we stepped into the kitchen.

"You're not his slave," I chimed in, and caught my breath when I saw Dante leaning on the counter a second too late. Waiting right on time for his feast to be created.

"You spoil him too much," Vergil added, oblivious to the glowering look Dante was giving us.

"It's my right as the youngest to get spoilt," Dante said defiantly.

"Let's not get on _that_ again," Vergil shot back.

"That's quite enough from all of you," Eva ordered sternly. She kissed the top of Dante's head, ruffled her hand lightly through Vergil's hair, and looked at me expectantly. "Helping?"

"Always," I sighed in defeat, walking over to the sink to wash my hands.

"I don't know why I even bother," Vergil muttered and strolled from the room.

From that moment on there was no sound in the kitchen except for Eva's pleasant humming. I helped prep; lining up ingredients, grating cheese, slicing up salami and dicing mushrooms and green peppers. Afterward I joined Dante to watch Eva mix together ingredients like she was racing time itself; then kneading dough and heating up the oven.

"Why don't you and your brother get along?" Eva stopped humming suddenly as she painstakingly spread pasta sauce on the rolled out dough.

It took Dante looking at me quizzically to realise she was speaking to me. "I don't know. He's my brother. Are we supposed to get along?" I replied uneasily.

"He is important, Cora. When the world goes up in flames, the only thing you have left is family," Eva said and I rolled my eyes, exasperated.

"You sound like my mom," I complained.

"Maybe we've got it right then," said Eva.

I didn't say anything. There was no point in arguing with parents. They just didn't get how the dynamics between siblings worked.

"What's on your mind, sweetheart?" Eva asked, looking up at me while she rolled the dough out.

"Nothing. I just had a bad day, that's all," I shrugged, busying myself by rinsing a bush of parsley in the sink.

"You don't want to talk about it?"

"No. It's over... it doesn't matter, I'm okay now."

"Alright, sweetie," Eva sighed.

She didn't hum again. I could feel her looking at me every now and then while I cleaned the dishes.

"Hey, mom, guess what?" Dante broke the silence.

"What?" Eva asked.

"Dad gave me rebellion," Dante said, his cold eyes fixed on me before he looked at his mother.

"Is that meant to be funny, Dante?" Eva asked as she shoved the raw pizza into the oven.

"No. Dad gave me _Rebellion_," Dante repeated with emphasis, and Eva slowly turned to look at him as she pulled the oven gloves off her hands.

"Well. It's only fair. He gave Yamato to Vergil. Maybe he thought you felt left out."

Dante shook his head, lips twitching in contempt. "Like he cares?"

"_Of course_ he cares," Eva said, horrified. "Dante, your father loves you both very much. And don't you _ever_ doubt that."

"He's just been acting weird lately," Dante shrugged, neck flushing a faint red.

"I'll go have a word with him. Keep an eye on the food, please," Eva said, and glided from the kitchen.

"Is Rebellion a katana like Vergil's?" I asked curiously.

"No," Dante said, frowning. "Rebellion is the most awesome sword in the world. It kicks Vergil's little stick's ass."

"Could I see it?" I asked. Dante straightened and hovered over me, to intimidate me I guess but I persevered. "Come _on_, it's not like I was born under a rock and don't know what a sword looks like."

"Mom will have a fit. She doesn't want us flashing our fancy stuff around when you're here."

"It won't scare me off," I pleaded. "C'mon, Dante, you can't get rid of me even if you tried. I just want to _see_ it."

Another second of indecisiveness, and then he caved. "Fine. But it's upstairs in my room. I can't bring it out without risking my mom catching me."

"Fine, whatever. Go, I'll follow," I said, ushering him from the kitchen.

"Don't tell her I showed you. Or I'll have to kill you," Dante added, and not in playful tones.

I gave him another hard shove. "Lead the way, already."

There was something very exciting and tempting about the feeling of naughtiness. Hearts racing, adrenaline pumping, ears perked up for the slightest sound of approach, knowing we'd both be in for it if we got caught but risking it anyway. I've never been to the second floor of the house before, because I was forbidden to go up there. Not in so many words, but Eva always said Sparda was upstairs, and that sufficed as a warning.

There was a broad hallway at the top of the sweeping staircase, and Dante led me down the royal red carpet to one of the many mahogany doors. Despite the beautiful, elaborate decor of the room, Dante's bedroom looked – and smelled – far worse than my own. Filthy clothes were strewn all over the floor in between sweet wrappers and junk, there was a gory stain against one wall, and the mattress was half off his bed. His guns lay on the bedspread, as if he'd placed them there with great care, and beside it was a sword.

It had the most intricate silver skeleton design as the hilt, and the blade was nearly twice the size of the katanas'.

"Wow, that _does_ make Vergil's look like a toothpick," I said, walking over to study it closer. "Can you even pick it up? It's pretty big."

"Sure can. You want to try it out?"

"_Can_ I try?" I asked, surprised.

"Yeah...emphasis on the _try_," Dante teased. "Go on," he said, dropping onto the bed in front of me.

"Okay," I said nervously, gathering my guts and taking hold of the sword with both hands.

I made to pick it up and found it was too heavy. I could barely lift it a few inches off the bed, and the strain made my arms wobble like spaghetti.

"Here, I'll give you a hand," Dante said, giving me a funny look before taking position behind me. His fingers curled over mine and the sword lifted easily. He gave it a swing this way and that, cutting a W in the air in front of us. "Now, you do it."

He let go, and the sword dropped to the floor, taking me down with it.

"Whoa! You okay?" Dante asked, dropping to his knees beside me with total surprise on his face.

"Ow," I moaned. "It's too heavy."

"You need to eat more beef. It's not _that_ heavy."

"Yeah, it is," I said through gritted teeth. "Could you lift it, please? My fingers are stuck."

Dante stared back at me in disbelief. He didn't move until I snapped at him.

"Dante, _help_."

He lifted the sword easily, and weighed it in his hands curiously. I shook my squished fingers and blew on them, glaring at the sword like it was an enemy.

"You really can't pick it up?" Dante pressed.

"Did you not just see me try?" I said, annoyed.

"You're such a girl," Dante scowled.

"Bite me, Dante. That thing really hurt me," I said, narrowing my eyes at him and climbing to my feet.

"Where are you going?" He called after me.

"Home. Where I won't get crushed by a sword," I snapped, and opened his door.

"Carly, wait..."

"What the hell is this?"

I stopped in my tracks and spun around, startled. Dante was right behind me, and the fear of having been caught was on both our faces. We'd been worried that Eva would catch us – we never even contemplated what would happen if _Sparda_ did.

He had a towel over his shoulders and he was dripping sweat. Right that moment he was staring at us with piercing, angry cold eyes.

"I just... I asked... I wanted to see Dante's room," I stammered when it was clear Dante wasn't going to be much help with getting us out of trouble.

"You know we don't allow our guests upstairs," Sparda growled, giving Dante a seething look.

Dante didn't respond, but he was standing tall and braced.

"It's... we weren't long, and I just wanted a quick peek at the sword..." I said uncertainly. It was hard not to feel like Sparda was going to rip out his own sword and dice me in pieces. My legs were shaking and my heart was fluttering in terror.

"We can't allow for accidents to happen, Dante," Sparda scolded furiously.

"But nothing happened," I said feebly.

"You know better than this. The second floor is off limits for a reason," Sparda continued on as if he'd forgotten I was right there.

I glanced from Sparda's rock hard face to Dante's quietly fuming, solemn one. Not once did Dante speak up to defend himself, even though I could practically hear his thoughts.

"It's not his fault. I _made_ him show me," I said too loudly, frowning bravely back up at Sparda when he finally looked at me.

"I don't believe for one moment you could have done or said anything to force Dante to do this," Sparda reprimanded me. "He deliberately disobeyed the rules. You could have gotten hurt, Cora, and he knows that."

I saw Dante twitch from the corner of my eye. He looked away from Sparda, and there was angry guilt written all over his face. It was catchy because a second later, I felt guilty too. I'm usually the instigator for trouble, naturally, and _usually_ I get off scot-free while everyone who was really innocent got the brunt of it. Maybe it was because Dante wasn't defending himself or pleading for forgiveness that I decided to step up to the plate for a change. It looked like he was going to go down without a fight.

"So do I," I said bravely, wondering if I'd gone insane even as I quoted my mother. "I'm responsible for my own actions. So whatever punishment he gets, I should get, too."

Call it my means of redemption if you want, but I had the inkling of an idea that Dante would hold this against me if I didn't do _something_. Not that I was hoping we'd magically become friends just because I was going down with him. That ship had sailed a long time ago.

"Cora, maybe you should just go home," Sparda said, his voice as hard as stone.

My instincts almost obeyed the order – I wanted nothing more than to run to the safety of my own home – but I restrained my legs from moving.

"No," I choked out.

Dante gave me a sidelong glance. I couldn't tell if he was impressed or thought I was crazy, not that it mattered what he thought. Well, not right now, anyway. Maybe if I lived through this I'd care more about what he thought. Sparda, as tall and menacing as he was, suddenly seemed very helpless as he stared back at me.

"Trust me, little girl, you don't want what's in store for Dante. Go home," Sparda threatened.

This time I couldn't move even if I wanted to because all my muscles were locked in fear.

"What's going on here?" Eva asked suddenly, appearing behind Sparda.

She was like a little fairy dunked in gold beside Sparda's gigantic muscular form. She never looked more like a saving angel than she did that moment. I saw Dante's shoulders slump in relief.

Eva's scornful look was softened by her beauty when she saw me. "_Cora_!" She chided me. "What on earth do you think you two are doing?"

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, looking down at my feet guiltily.

"Well?" Eva demanded expectantly, small hands resting on her hips.

"She wanted to see Rebellion, so I showed her," Dante spoke for the first time.

I wanted to hit him. He made it sound very much like I was to blame. So what if I _was_ to blame, he could have tried to cover for me. I was trying to soften the wrath of his parents on him, after all.

I didn't realise I'd gone quiet and was glaring at him until he looked at me and quirked his eyebrow at me in surprised confusion.

"Well," Eva said again, with a heavy sigh. "No pizza for either of you."

Dante's eyes went wide and he opened his mouth to complain.

"No. Dante, you do know better. Cora could have gotten hurt, or worse," Eva said before he could get a word out. "I want you to go rake the yard as your punishment. Both of you."

Dante dropped his hands in angry defeat and whirled around. I watched him storm down the stairs, and turned back to his parents helplessly. They were looking at me as if asking 'what are you still doing here'.

"Do I have to?" I asked grumpily.

"Unless you want me to tell your parents and have them forbid you to ever come over again," Eva said tightly. "You know you're not allowed up here."

"Yeah. Well, whatever," I said coldly. "It won't happen again. I'm _sorry_."

I turned around and headed down the stairs. Anger and fear and regret were conflicting inside me when I stepped onto the backyard, armed with a pack of garbage bags and garden gloves that were way too big for my hands.

You'd think raking the dead leaves off the yard wouldn't be much of a punishment, but you'd think wrong if you saw the size of Sparda's backyard. There were clusters of sycamore trees every here and there, and the yard spread out in front of me like a mini football field. Dante had already started in a corner, running the rake across the grass roughly. I headed for the opposite side of the yard, putting as much distance between us as I could.

I noticed scars on the trees, bullet wounds and deep gashes. Testaments of the rough play that often occurred in the yard, and a scary reminder of what Dante was capable of. I worked silently and as quickly as I could. It was discouraging when, after a long time, I looked over my shoulder and the space that I'd done looked pathetically small. I'd thought about going over to talk to Dante once, but I knew better. There was nothing I could say that wouldn't make him even more mad. He was more likely to hack the rake at me and push me into one of the garbage bags. I didn't know much about him but I did know that a hungry Dante was a very, very cranky Dante.

I pictured myself at school on Monday, when my friends and I would recap at lunch.  
So what did you do this weekend, Cora? Oh, I raked a sports field. It was so exciting, especially with a half-demon boy that was probably picturing killing me in every way possible just on the opposite side of the yard.

I furrowed my eyebrows in dismay. I was getting annoyed because I wasn't exactly fit, and I hated doing hard labour. Even washing the dishes was a mission for me. And I was angry, too. Not angry that I had to carry out my punishment, but angry that I was scared out of my mind. Dante was someone you didn't want against you, and I'd miraculously managed to make myself his enemy. Or, at least, that's how I felt.

I stopped again after a while when my arms began to burn too much. I dropped the rake and pulled the gloves off, eyeing the red blisters on my hands unhappily. Great. With a heavy, resigned sigh, I picked the rake up again, gritting my teeth against the ache in my shoulders and back. Dante and I met up in the middle of the yard when dusk began to fall.

"Thanks a lot, Carly," Dante said coolly when I tied the last garbage bag.

"_Cora_," I bit back, and paused when my stomach made a loud, whining grumble between us.

"You didn't have to stick up for me," Dante added.

"Don't count on it happening again. Ever," I said, straightening to meet his gaze evenly.

He was very angry. His eyes were sparking back at me in the dimming light.

"Good. I won't," Dante said curtly.

I yanked the gloves off and threw it at him. Then I grabbed hold of several bags and started dragging them toward the side of the house. Dante joined me a second later, dumping his own load on top of mine. He grabbed hold of my arm when I turned toward the house, but I shook him off almost violently with a cold 'bye'. I briskly walked through the house, nearly knocking into Vergil as he came down the hallway.

"Cora?" Eva called from the family den when she saw me.

"Good night," I said emotionlessly, and slammed the front door shut behind me.


	3. Too Late To Apologise

I was too upset to sleep that night and I wasn't even sure why. So Dante probably hated my guts, I didn't care. I hated his, too. We weren't even friends to start off with anyway. Who would want to be friends with a freak like him? Not me. Definitely not me, not at all.

I paced my room and tried to listen to music on my walkman, but nothing worked to cheer me up or make me forget. All I kept hearing was Eva calling my name and Vergil telling me to stop crying, and it was like I could still feel Dante's eyes burning into my back. I tried to draw a few things in my sketch book, because Eva told me before that if I couldn't find the words to show how I feel that I could use colours to express myself on canvas. Some of the pictures I drew were of a stickboy being beaten over the head with a rake by a stickgirl, or a big stickman dragging the stickboy by the feet out of the room, while the stickgirl snickered and pointed, while baking cookies with a big sticklady. The stickboy left nail scratches on the floor. But my main picture, the one that sucked me into it and spat me back out late morning, was of a leaf strewn yard with a silver haired boy standing with his legs crossed, leaning against a big sword stuck into the ground, and he was glaring back up at me. I was no Da Vinci, but it was obvious who it was.

Movement outside my window is what pulled me out of my drawing trance. Only then did I realise that I was late for school. I stared at the golden sunshine heating my room and for a frantic moment expected my mother to burst through the door and tell me off for 'sleeping in' on a school day. The door didn't open, and the house was eerily silent. I frowned tiredly and peeked out into the hallway.

"Mom?" I called out.

When the only answer was silence, I went to my dad's study and found no life there either. It was past ten in the morning already when I stepped into the kitchen. No point in going to school then, and I needed sleep. The tiredness was making my head feel foggy and my eyes heavy. I went back to my room and was just about to fling myself onto my bed when something moved outside my window again. It was so fast I wasn't sure if I just imagined it. I peered through it cautiously, and with a grain of groggy courage I lifted the window pane and stuck my head outside.

"What do you want?" I asked, spotting the ice-blonde boy walking toward our front door.

He stopped in his tracks suddenly and turned to look at me. "I was going to ring your doorbell."

"What for?"

"Will you let me come inside, please?"

"Why should I?" I said, and shook my head. "No, actually I just want you to go away."

"Cora, don't be so stubborn. Open the door and let me in."

"My mom doesn't like you," I snapped, trying to ignore the fact that he got my name right.

"Forget it," he said, shaking his head and sending a glare up at the sky before turning away.

I hesitated for a second before calling after him. "Hey, wait! What did you want?"

He turned around to face me but continued to walk backward. "I wanted to come make peace on behalf of my stupid brother, but if you're really not interested-"

"Wait! I thought you were Dante!" I said, staring at him wide eyed. "Why would you want to make peace for him anyway? You don't even like me!"

Vergil stopped backtracking and shrugged. "And I'm not having this conversation with you through your window."

"Why not? Okay, just...come back, I'll open the door for you," I said in annoyance.

I dragged myself to the front door, believing that he would already be gone before I even reached it. He was, however, right on the doorstep. I took another moment to stare at him before stepping aside to let him in.

"So why are you here to say sorry and he isn't?" I asked, closing the door behind us.

"Because he's scared you'll throw it back in his face," Vergil said, giving me a look.

"Well you can tell him that I'll be waiting for his apology. He can't send you to do this for him, it doesn't mean anything to me this way," I said, holding my chin high.

Like Dante, he was making me feel very uneasy, and I didn't know if it was because of the way he was looking at me or the way he was speaking to me, but part of me was screaming and cowering in front of him.

"He won't apologise. That's why I'm here."

"Really?" I asked, squinting up at him suspiciously. "What would you care about what happens between me and Dante? It's none of your business."

"True, but if he's going to relentlessly beg me to impersonate him and come apologise to you for him, your business becomes my business."

"That's gutless of him," I remarked.

"That's what I said," Vergil said with a faint smirk.

"It's not even a real apology," I said, folding my arms across my chest. "And did he really think I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between you?"

Vergil stared at me for a second. "You thought I was him, though."

"Right," I said, and glared down at my feet. Stupid, stupid Dante! Was it really that much to ask just to come over and say he's sorry for acting like a total goofball?

"Look," Vergil said, surprising me by putting his hand on my shoulder. "I'm Dante, you're you. I'm really sorry for whatever it is I did to upset you. Can we please be friends again?"

"We were friends?" I asked dumbly.

Vergil straightened up and sighed heavily. "Weren't you? I thought because he showed you his room and stuff...well, he really likes you, if that counts for anything."

"Dante likes me?" I asked, stumped. "Are you lying to me now?"

"Of course not!" Vergil burst out in sudden irritation, pushing the hair back from his forehead in a frustrated gesture. "He likes you, he wants you to be friends. Please just say everything is fine again so I can continue my life in peace."

"What?" I snapped back, startled. "Are we talking about the same Dante, because the Dante _I_ know doesn't even remember my name."

"Of course he knows your name. You know, things used to be fine when he kept his questions and ramblings about 'Cora said this' and 'Cora did that' for my mom alone. All he ever talks about is you and now that you're no longer on good terms he's aiming all of it at me. Vergil do this, Vergil please, Vergil can you talk to her for me, Vergil what if she never comes over again, _Vergil-Vergil-Vergil_! I can't take it!" His face was red and he was breathing hard when he was done speaking.

I'd backed up against the wall and was staring at him with round eyes. "It's only been one night..."

"_That's what I said!_" Vergil exclaimed. "You think he listens to me? My brother is an idiot."

"Well I'm sorry that you had to do this, Vergil, I really am," I said tentatively, "but I'd prefer it to come from Dante himself."

"Insufferable!" Vergil growled, stomping past me. The front door slammed shut behind him with so much force that I could hear the glass rattling in the windowpanes.

The rest of the week was very weird.

I didn't go back over to the Sparda household, partially because I was mad at Dante for not caring enough to apologise to my face, and partially because I knew I'd made Vergil very mad.

I'd resolved not to set my feet back there until Dante himself made some sort of peace offering. Which I knew was probably not going to materialise. I knew that if I'd go over every day, like I always did, Dante would carry on as if nothing had happened. I've seen him done it when he and Vergil would have a major blow out. Vergil would still be seething about what happened, and Dante would come waltzing into the room five minutes later like their fight never happened. It's like he expected people to smell what he was feeling, to just automatically know what he was thinking - either that or it really didn't bother him to upset others.

It was weird going to school, and knowing that I wouldn't be dropping by their house after school for Eva's delicious cupcakes. It was weird going to extracurricular events with my friends from school, to go hang out in Roman's tree house, or have fun at the arcade with Van, or tormenting Jason when Lorry would come over to my place to do our homework together. Not that I hadn't done any of that before, I just didn't do it as often as I guess I should.

It was weird not being able to provide some gossip material when my friends quizzed me about what goes on behind the walls that contained the devils. I was as in the dark as the rest of them. My life became very mundane and predictable. I had to resign myself to it and make the best of it, because my pride was too great to suck it up and go next door. Breakfast, school, home, snacks, homework, friends, chores, dinner, bath, sleep. The same routine every day.

I was sitting at a desk in the classroom, serving out detention after a teacher had caught me spitting bubblegum at kids from the second floor, when a soft rap came at the door. I was tracing the doodles on the desk that kids before me had left behind, my load of algebra homework securely tucked into my schoolbag. I wasn't going to do homework just because there was nothing else to do. Doing nothing was a very appealing alternative, since I suck at maths.

"Hello," a quiet, familiar voice said from the front of the room, and I looked up.

"Lady Eva," the teacher's face went red behind his glasses, and he stumbled to his feet. "Hi, hello. Welcome. What can I help you with?"

I glanced at Eva, and dropped my forehead to the table. _Great_.

"Would you be able to pardon Cora early today?" Eva asked. "She needs to come home with me."

"Of course, of course. Eh, Cora," the teacher's tone changed when he addressed me. He was one of the unlucky ones that got some gum stuck in his hair earlier that day. "Get your bag. You're dismissed."

"Hurray," I muttered, snatching up my bag and marching out the door.

Eva fell in stride beside me. I didn't look at her when I spoke. "First Vergil, now you," I said, unable to keep the bitterness out of my voice. "Well, you can tell Dante he can shove it. It's not fair of him to use you to make peace."

Eva didn't say anything, and I bit my lip when we stepped out the school building. Dante was leaning against the wall, arms folded across his chest. He straightened up when he saw us approaching. There was a look on his face I couldn't quite define. Not remorse, it was something else. Like sympathy. Compassion. I felt a trickle of coldness run down my spine when Dante stepped forward and took my schoolbag off me. His eyes darted from me to Eva, and back.

"Where are we going?" I finally broke the strange silence.

We were walking in the wrong direction, toward the mall instead of toward home.

"I'll tell you when we get there," Eva said, strained.

Something was very wrong. The sunlight coating the mulberry bushes along the sidewalk seemed very cold all of a sudden. I slowly looked from Eva's strained face, to Dante's pale one, and halted in my tracks.

"Tell me _now,_" I demanded.

Dante opened his mouth, but Eva stopped him. "Dante, _don't_. Cora, sweetheart, listen. It's important that you come with us for now."

"Why don't you want me to go home?" I asked, and my heart made a sickening plunge to my feet at the brief regret that flickered across Dante's face.  
Eva's hand was gentle as she steered me back into motion.

"There's a problem back at home," Eva finally said.

"What kind of problem?" I asked. The first thing that went through my mind is, my dad's gone awol. He and a bunch of the other men in town must have decided to launch their attack on Sparda, and Sparda was probably thrashing them around a little bit.

Eva seemed at a loss for words. When we drew close to the town hall, I noticed a lot of people milling around. It was unusual at this time of day, especially because there was no meeting or event taking place. That's when I noticed that there were a lot of people walking in the same direction we were. I felt a tremor of foreboding wreck through me, and I slid through the mass of people into the town hall. I located the narrow, spiralling stairwell that led to the roof and burst out at the top. Vergil was standing at the edge, and turned slightly toward me, hand ready to draw the katana from its sheath. He relaxed when he saw it was me. I had a good view of town from up there, and I felt my innards turn to fiery ash at the sight.

Far away, the other side of town was in chaos. A black, spinning vortex was suspended in the sky, and things were dropping from it like pouring rain. The buildings and houses that had once been standing were slain, leaving the terrain a flat, dusty waste land.  
My breath hitched in my throat, and then I was running back downstairs. I shoved people out of my way, broke free of the crowd, and bolted toward the furious hell.  
I ran faster than I ever had before. The part of me that was screaming at my stupidity was dulled by the intense rage and terror clamouring inside my chest. My little brother was at home. My mom was at home, my dad was at home, and they were smack in the middle of disorder.

I didn't so much as flinch when I saw demons up ahead. They were especially ugly ones, with sharp scythes and skulls that protruded from ragged cloaks. Their red eyes glowed at me as I ran past them. Several took swings at me, but I didn't stop to wonder once why they kept missing me.  
I barely saw Sparda fight off the multitude. All my thoughts were narrowed to one goal: get home. Get my family out of there.

The problem was that when I did get there, the only building left intact was the Sparda house. My own home looked like a bulldozer had gone through it.

"Mom! Jason! _Jason_!" I shrieked, stumbling into the wreckage.

I tripped over rubble and scrambled to my feet shakily, still screaming out their names. I always thought that if something like this happened to me, I would be calm from shock. I would feel like I was moving in a dream.  
Reality was rudely awakening. All my senses were too alert, I could see things sharp and clear without being able to take any of it in. I was out of control, staggering through debris looking for the people I knew were most certainly dead. The second my eyes fixed on a pale hand visible beneath a slab of bricks, my shrieks took on a new note. I dropped to my knees beside it.

"Daddy!" I yelled, grabbing hold of his hand and pulling.

The hand came forward freely, and I stared down at the severed arm in revolted shock. I dropped it, but I couldn't take my eyes off it, couldn't move away from it. I never knew human flesh could look so much like cattle. I never blinked twice at a headless and featherless chicken, or at a raw pork chop, or a beef loin. Humans shouldn't look like pieces of meat, but they did. When I finally lifted my gaze from the arm to look at a group of demons circling me, I could see myself the way they did. A piece of meat; nothing more, nothing less.

A bigger demon came blundering onto the scene, its skin a sickly white with green veins that seemed to glow. It had a head that was far too small for its brawny body, and razor sharp fangs coated with black gunk. I watched it demolish the other demons, bullying them, and found the strength to heed my instincts. I slowly got to my feet and carefully began to back away. I bumped into something hard and writhing behind me, and spun around to face it.  
I never got the shriek out. It reached for me and had its claws just graze my arms when a loud shot went off and a hole magically appeared in its forehead. A second later the demon fell back with a heavy thud, and then I was being spun around, being pulled this way and yanked that way. Shots were ringing in my ears and demons were falling all around me. Complete and total chaos.

Someone was dragging me from the rubble and down the infested streets. Every now and then a gunshot would blow through my ears, but it became less and less the further we went, until finally there weren't any demons in sight. That's when hands shook me, and I stared blindly back at Dante. His face was showered with blood, his blonde hair soaked with it. The blood made his eyes stand out like two blue pools in a red desert.

He was speaking to me, trying to look patient and calm, but I couldn't hear a word he was saying. It was like my ears were stuffed with cotton wool, and I touched them gingerly. I froze when I saw blood splattered on my hands, and deep, ugly gashes that ran down the length of my arms. It looked very painful, but I couldn't feel anything through the numbness. I stared at it in horror, and shook my head when Dante grabbed my shoulders and shook me a little harder. I could finally hear his voice, a muffled sound, and I had to follow his lips when he spoke to make out what he was saying.

"Did you get hurt anywhere else? Cora, did it bite you?"

I slowly shook my head, and winced when a sharp pain blazed through my temples. I put a hand to my head and pinched my eyes closed. "Ow."

"Come on. _Come on,_" Dante said, grabbing my wrist and tugging at me. "We need to get you back to the town hall."

I followed him a few steps before halting in my tracks. Dante turned toward me impatiently. "Don't stop, we need to get moving."

"Where _were_ you, Dante?" I choked out, and felt hot tears fall.

"I had to evacuate the people that were still alive. I had to get my mother to safety," Dante said, and softened. "I'm sorry. It happened so fast, I didn't know what was going on until they swarmed our house. By then it was too late. I'm really sorry."

"_That's_ your excuse?" I sobbed, and slapped his hands away when he reached for me again. "You were too late?"

"I'm sorry," Dante said helplessly.

"Sorry isn't going to bring my family back!"

"Where are you going?"

"Just stay away from me!" I shouted. I started running, but my legs seemed to disappear beneath me and I fell to the ground in a dive, scraping my arms and hands. I turned over onto my back, and stared at my legs dumbly.

"You okay? Come on, get up," Dante was suddenly beside me, holding his hand down to me.

"I can't," I said, swatting his hand away.

"_Get up_."

"_I can't_!" I shouted back, and felt another kind of fear rear up inside me. "I can't feel my legs."

I couldn't. I tried to move them, I really channelled all my energy into them, but they didn't budge.

"Okay," Dante said – and picked me up. "If you want to be stubborn, then go for it. But I'm not taking no for an answer."

"No, Dante," I said and hiccupped. "I really can't feel my legs."

That's when Dante broke out into a run. You'd think it would be hard for a seven year old boy to carry a seven year old girl, let alone run with her, but Dante moved as if I didn't weigh an ounce in his arms. And he was running _fast_.

I closed my eyes when my head throbbed. When I opened them again, I was lying flat on my back staring up at a lofty, pretty ceiling. I sat up on a bed, rubbing at my sleep encrusted eyes, and looked around the room. The walls were green print wallpaper and half panelled with wood, the floor smooth tiles. There was a dresser with a mirror against one wall, and there was something oddly familiar about the drapes hiding a window. Frowning in disorientation, I swung my legs over the side and tip toed toward them. I pushed a finger in the gap and cautiously peeked through it. The scenery outside was unrecognisable, flat fields of nothing but dust into the distance, where the town abruptly started again. I felt my eyes trail to the spot next door. In my mind I could visualize my house standing in that vacant lot. Now there was nothing, not even a stone or brick had been left behind. The debris had been cleared away.

I stared at it for a long time. I found myself wishing I'd stopped wallowing in my uncertainty toward Dante for the past week, and instead enjoyed the extra time I spent with my family. I'd only been home more often to spite him. I wished I'd known what lay waiting at the end of this week. When my dad had cracked the joke 'I'm glad to see you've finally found your way home', I should have given him a hug instead of rolling my eyes and huffing about it.

I finally decided to leave the room, but when I stepped out into the hallway, I froze when I realized where exactly I was. Second floor. I stood rooted to the spot in perplexed fear. I didn't know what to do until the sound of voices drifted toward me. I followed them up the broad hallway, and found them in a large study lined with bookshelves.

"I've exhausted all other options there are. I don't like it as much as you do, but it has to be done before more people get hurt."

I stopped right outside the door at Sparda's words.  
"You'll be here, and I'll be on the other side. I know I can count on you to pull through for me."

"No, you want to ditch all this shit on me so when things go wrong, people will look at me and crucify _me,_" Dante snapped, and I felt my eyes go round in surprise.

"You do understand that unless I'm in the demon world, they will always be able to break through, don't you? The amulet only stops the portal from being opened from this side. I have to go."

"So, what? You just expect me and Vergil to protect the humans? For what?" Dante said bitterly.

"Yes, I expect you to," Sparda growled angrily. "You are the sons of Sparda, and you will carry that title as the heroes, _not_ as the enemy. When I'm gone, you will need to take my place as protector of the human race."

"No way," Dante said curtly.

"Dante..."

"_No way_. What if I don't share your idealistic views? What if I don't care what happens to the humans? Let them fight their own battles."

"Mortals are no match for demons, you know that. And you _do_ care."

"Don't try to make your calling mine. Mom is a whole different story," Dante shot back.

"She represents humanity. I have given her the amulet, as a symbol of my oath that I will do what it takes to make sure mankind will be protected from my kind. As a sign of trust between me and everyone else. Vergil understands that, don't you?"

"I do, father," Vergil's timid response came.

"I really hate you, you know," Dante said sharply.

"I don't care," Vergil said.

"You can't just up and leave us. What does mom say about this?" Dante demanded.

"She understands," Sparda said quietly.

"Do you want another episode to happen like last time? If father doesn't do this, more attacks like that will take place. It's inevitable. You saw what destruction was caused..." Vergil said.

"Then we'll damn well be waiting for them. We won't be caught off guard again. But you _can't leave,_" Dante argued.

I'd started inching my way back, but their words followed me to the staircase. Eva found me at the bottom and quietly led me to the couch in the family den.  
"How are you feeling?"

"I... I don't know," I said uncertainly, looking at her angelic worried face.

"Stay here, okay? I'll go fix you some tea."

I watched her leave the room, and noticed a tight feeling on my arms for the first time. I lifted them to look at, and stared in disgust at the stitches that ran along them in a neat line. I hadn't realized the scratches had been that deep, or that long. Strange that I still didn't feel any pain.

"How's your arms?"

I jumped and looked up sharply when Dante came sauntering into the room. He sank down on the couch beside me, and wrung his hands together.

"Icky," I said, tearing my gaze from his and staring back down at my arms.

"It looks sore."

"It's not."

"You feeling okay?"

"That depends on what you're really asking," I shrugged.

"You don't feel like you're going to turn into a demon at any given time?"

I frowned at him, confused, and then straightened up when I realised. "Wh... you mean _this_ can turn me into one of those... those things?" I asked, panic making its presence known.

"Possibly. It depends on whether we got all the venom out or not," Dante said innocently, and frowned. "I don't know what you were thinking, running in there like a possessed person. You could have gotten yourself killed."

"You would have done the same thing," I said, and shuddered.

"Well yeah, I did, but I was chasing after you."

"Hmpf," I muttered bitterly. "If you're expecting a thank you, you're not going to get it."

"That's cool. I can deal with that," Dante said just as bitterly. "But you have to promise me you won't do anything stupid like that again."

"Why should you care?" I asked, glaring at him. "It's not like you care about humans."

Dante stiffened at my words, but I carried on. "You only do what you do because you're told to. You don't want to protect my people, so don't pretend you care. Don't pretend you care that you weren't able to save my family, and don't pretend you care about me, okay!"

"What's wrong?" Eva came strolling into the room, her worried eyes flitting between me and Dante.

"Don't be _stupid_. If I didn't care about you I wouldn't have gone after you," Dante protested.

"You did it because you were told to," I snapped.

"I did it because I didn't want you to end up some demons' snack."

"Oh yeah, then prove it!" I shouted.

"I don't have to prove anything!" Dante shouted back, rising to his feet.

"Dante," Eva chided firmly.

"Whatever," Dante dropped the volume and stormed out of the room.

Eva sat down beside me, and put her arms around me in a warm, motherly embrace. "Sweetheart, I know you're hurting. It's okay to cry. Dante really was just trying to help," Eva said comfortingly.

"I don't want to cry," I said, even though the opposite was true. "What's the point? Tears aren't going to bring my mom and dad back to life."

Eva held me for a moment longer, then gently pulled back. "You can come join me in the kitchen when you feel a bit better."

I was alone in the family den for only a few minutes before I got up with a deep sigh. I started toward the kitchen, but paused when I spotted Dante sitting on the bottom step of the sweeping staircase. He was twirling one of his guns with his fingers, looking very cross and brooding. He stopped to look back at me evenly, and then he was on his feet and slowly walking toward me.

"I'm sorry," my voice came out pathetically weak and shaky. "I know you were just helping, I just..."

He had his arms around me before I could blink, and then I was crying. I don't know how long we were standing like that, just that my legs were weak and my head throbbed from crying so much when the sobs finally subsided. All the while he said nothing, but when I finally stepped away from him he spoke.  
"I'd still like to hear the magic words."

It took me a long blank moment before my mind could decipher what he meant. "I promise," I whispered.

"Good. And if you break that promise, I will take you down myself," Dante said, and smiled.

**~...~**

_9 July_  
_10:00_

_Dear Diary,_

_I miss them._  
_~ 10:30  
**~...~**_

_10 July_  
_16:23_

_Dear Diary,_

_It's been a week since the attack._ _It doesn't feel like a week. It feels like it happened just this afternoon._ _A memorial was held at the community hall in the CBD today. For everyone who lost someone during. For everyone who cares._ _I still feel like I'm going to wake up and find that this is all just a nightmare._ _Like Mom is going to come ringing the doorbell, all dressed up to have tea with Eva._ _Like... I expect Sparda to tell me at any moment that I've overstayed my welcome and that my family is going to file a missing person's report at the police station if I don't go home._ _But I look out the window, and there's nothing left of our house next door. They'd cleared the rubble a few days ago. I overheard Eva talking to Sparda about how they hadn't found any bodies. Or, as Sparda pointed out, whole bodies._ _I don't want to feel anymore._  
_~16:30_

**_~...~_**

_18 July_  
_20:45_

_Dear Diary,_

_I don't want to go to school tomorrow.  
**~...~**_

_15 August_  
_2:00_

_Dear Diary,_

_There's another demon attack tonight._ _Eva kept saying all through dinner that she had a bad feeling._ _It's the screaming that woke me up. Not people screaming, people don't sound like that, and I wouldn't hear them all the way from the city anyway. I can see fire in the city from my bedroom window. It looks like hell. Eva said that Sparda is handling it. That he left not more than 10 minutes ago._ _I wonder if something went wrong with the boys that made Sparda have to go intervene. They're usually back by now._ _I didn't ask Eva. I almost did. I almost forgot that she doesn't know that I know about the missions Sparda send them on._ _I hate demons._ _I really, really hate demons._  
_~2:09  
**~...~**_

_17 August_  
_6:33_

_Dear Diary,_

_Dante, The Idiot, put a big ugly toad in my bed. I felt it on my foot. I freaked out. And he laughed his head off._ _At six in the morning! And then he tells me to grow a sense of humour! In what universe is that funny?_ _Eva didn't think me shrieking the house awake was funny either. Stupid Dante!_

**_~...~_**

_25 August  
13:00_

_Dear Diary,_

_My arm hurts._ _I went to the school nurse about it today, and was sent straight back to class because she thought I was trying to skip out on a math quiz. You'd think they'd be more sensitive toward me, but no, apparently my track record at school is more of an issue than me losing my family. She didn't even give me painkillers. Sparda at least was a lot more sympathetic when I told him I wasn't feeling good. And he's a DEMON. In disguise, but he's still a demon. Tell me I have no right to doubt the morale of humanity!_ _And I caught Dante filling my pillowcase with earthworms in the backyard. What an idiot. I don't know what is wrong with him. And he's always picking on me. I don't know what Vergil was talking about when he said Dante likes me, because it's very obvious he only likes to make me angry._

**_~...~_**

_3 September  
22:02_

Dear Diary,

_I've been dreaming about Vergil for the past few nights. Only, he's bad in my dreams. I don't know why I dream this because he's really nice to me. I think I like him better than Dante. In fact, we get along great. Mostly because we both share a loathing for Dante, I guess. Him and his stupid tricks._

_~...~_


	4. Just beneath the surface

**~...~**

The Sparda house became my home. I had nowhere else I could go without needing to transfer schools and uprooting what life I had left. It was hard because I had to walk past the place where my family died on a daily basis.

But Eva made it worth it, and so did the boys. They couldn't replace my own mom and Jason, but they did a damn good job at making up for their lacking presence. Eva did all the things my mom used to do, getting me up for school in time, making sure that favourite pair of jeans was ironed and hanging in my cupboard when I wanted to go out, shoving a handful of coins into my hand before I could even ask, and she arranged the most awesome birthday parties.

Dante did all the things Jason had always tried to do without success. From sneaking worms into my pillows to leaving a couple of slimy toads in my bed, and generally just being really, immensely, annoying. In the past year, I learnt to like Vergil a lot better, mainly because he wasn't going out of his way to irritate me. As biased as he was, he was good company. The fact that he didn't chase me from the room every time I sought him out had to mean that he enjoyed my company just as much. Or maybe it was the fact that we shared the need to converse with someone who was a little higher on the emotional maturity scale than Dante.

I'll be honest. Spending too much time under the same roof as Dante will make anyone see red. He was too mischievous, too reckless, too wild, and it got to me after a while. Vergil, on the other hand, shared the same sense of serenity that Eva had. He was lacking in the warm and kind department, but he did everything with a calculated calmness, he reflected on his words and deeds before putting them into action. He was, in a lot of ways, a lot more organized than Dante.

I'd been spending a whole lot more time with Vergil lately, and it was only because he finally caved in when I asked him for the millionth time to teach me how to fight. Not in a nagging kind of way, I'd just say something in the lines of, I wish I could fight like you do and put Dante in his place sometimes. I got my wish.  
Kung Fu was pretty easy if you did it right and took your time to memorize what position was best for what action. Vergil would always comment on how skinny and weak I was, and it only encouraged me to join sports at school. Before I knew it, I was running track, doing crazy flips on the junior cheerleading squad, and joining Lorry on her daily trips to the gym.

I'd started keeping a diary when I started living in their home. At first it had served as therapy, a place to vent out about the unfairness of the world and how much I hated life, how much I hated demons, how much I wished I could slaughter them. It wouldn't bring my family back, but it would serve as some sort of vengeance. But the hate and grief slowly dissolved into the background as life moved on. My highs and lows were in there, my thoughts about the people I knew, and my feelings about them too.

So it was hardly surprising that I freaked out when I walked into my room after a shopping trip into town with Eva, and found Dante reclined on my bed, completely engrossed in my diary.  
I didn't realise what he was reading at first, so my reaction had been somewhat delayed as I walked over to my dresser and dumped a bag onto it with a heavy sigh.

"What are you doing in my room _again_, Dante?" I asked. I was too happy to get angry with him right away, because Eva and I had gone shopping for a special outfit for my birthday party the next day.

I pulled the dress out of the bag and shook it out, marvelling at it in the mirror before turning around to face him.  
"_Dante. _What do you think?" I asked, twirling in a little circle.

Dante's head snapped up and he stared at me, wide eyed. He chewed his lip uncertainly and slowly sat up on the bed.  
"I didn't hear you come in." He said, half apologetic, half accusing.

"What are you –" I frowned at the book he suddenly snapped shut, and felt my stomach turn inside out when I recognised it. "Did you... is that my diary?"

"What? What, this thing?" Dante asked, snatching the book up and hiding it behind his back guiltily. "No..."

"You have no right!" I shrieked.

Dante fell silent and nervously backed away from the bed. "I was just looking at the pictures..."

"Get out of my room."

"I didn't... I won't..." Dante stammered, and then shrugged uncertainly. "Do you really like Vergil better?"

"Get out," I snapped.

"C'mon, I thought we had a good thing going," Dante protested. "Vergil is such a prune, how could you like him more?"

"He respects my privacy, for one," I said angrily. "Get out, Dante, I mean it."

"Do you really think I'm as pathetic as you make me out to be?" Dante asked, not budging an inch.

"I don't have to explain anything to you," I said.

There was an awkward silence, and then Dante shifted his weigh from one foot to the other uneasily, hanging his head. "You still hate me."

I stared back at him, and had to bit back the rude response burning on my tongue. I wanted to say, well you haven't done anything to not make me hate you, but I didn't. He really did look hurt. It felt wrong to kick him while he was down.

"I don't _hate_ you," I forced the words out, and cringed. It was supposed to sound a lot more convincing than it did.

Dante peeked at me through unruly strands of white blonde hair, his eyes unreadable.  
"You sure? Because it sure sounds like you do. I mean, _The Idiot_ says it all, doesn't it?" Dante said, his voice distant and clipped.

I winced. I often referred to Dante as The Idiot in my diary, because whatever I had to write about him would be something negative, something he'd done to make me mad or to make someone else mad.

"I'm not going to apologize. You shouldn't have read my diary," I said evenly.

"Why didn't you guys tell me Vergil was teaching you how to fight?" Dante asked.

"Because it's none of your business," I said, and then I was on a roll. "We don't want any distractions, and you'll just mess everything up. Because that's what you always do, everything is just a big old joke to you. Why do you think I didn't ask _you_ to teach me?"

Dante had been chewing his lip while I was going on my little rant, and when I finished he puckered his lips thoughtfully. "Whatever."

"Urg. Just _get out,_" I nearly screamed at him.

This time he obliged. I watched him head for the door, and went to pick up my diary.

"Just so you know," Dante said, and I turned to glare at him. He was peeking back into the room, his eyes filled with contempt. "I'm not the bad twin."  
Then he was gone.

I sank down on the edge of my bed, and stared at my reflection in the mirror. My hair was the colour of cinnamon and in slight disarray from the wind outside, and my eyes were a blazing amber-brown and darker than usual. My face was flushed in fury.

I really didn't like the way I looked, because I was an open book for people to read. I couldn't mask my feelings even if I tried. I was still fuming by supper time, and planned to grab some grub and spend the night in the confines of my bedroom. Sparda was comfortable in an arm chair next to the furnace in the family den, and Eva was perched on the armrest like a vision in soft gold. Vergil was sitting cross-legged on the floor by the coffee table, and Dante was spread out on the couch with his half empty plate on his chest.

All eyes were on the television set, so I was quiet when I went over to the coffee table and dished up for myself on the only clean plate left out for me. I felt Dante's eyes on me, but I stubbornly refused to look at him. I didn't trust myself when I got mad at him. If he said anything, I was pretty sure I'd flip and try to poke my fork into his head.

"Wow. I can feel the love," Dante said, and I gritted my teeth.

I smacked another spoonful of mashed potato onto my plate. Vergil was looking at Dante, puzzled, and then at me curiously.

"Don't ask," I muttered.

Vergil snorted in reply, giving Dante another measuring look. "What did you do this time?"

"Apparently I don't have to do _anything_. I'm just naturally hated," Dante said.

"Stop it." I glared at him, showering my food with salt.

"Stop what? Breathing? You'd love that, wouldn't you?"

"_Stop_ trying to manipulate me into feeling guilty!" I snapped.

"What happened?" Eva intervened.

Dante glanced at me and our eyes locked. "Nothing." Dante finally said, and I smirked at him.

"Right." I said flatly.

"Get over it already," Dante said despondently.

I flipped. It was bound to happen sooner or later, I just didn't predict exactly _how_ it would go down. One moment I was glaring daggers at him, the next I'd thrown my plate of food at him with a sort of war cry. Mashed potato and veggies flew across the room, but my aim was off and it hit the wall above him instead. Dante rolled off the couch and stared at the food sliding down the wall for a second.

"Oh, you want to play that game?" Dante said and started toward me.

I didn't run away, even though it was the first thing I would have done if I had my sanity intact. I rolled my shoulders to loosen the muscles, and smoothly shifted into position.

"Bring it on," I dared him.

I was ready to knock his head sideways, every inch of my body tingling in anticipation as he stormed me. But before I could move, and before Dante could ram into me, an enormous blade whistled through the air and hung between us as a blockage, gleaming back at us threateningly.

"What are you thinking?" Sparda demanded in disbelief.

"You're lucky," Dante said, straightening up and shaking his finger at me as he slowly backed away.

"_Dante_," Eva said, pushing Sparda's sword away and stepping in between us. "What's gotten into you?"

Dante gave me a withering look. I returned it fiercely.

"Feeling's mutual, devil boy," I folded my arms across my chest defiantly.

Dante wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and settled himself back onto the couch.

"That's quite enough of this nonsense," Eva said sternly. "I don't know what's been going on between you two, and I don't care. Whatever it is, you will put it aside and apologize."

"I'm not..." I started.

"You _will_. Both of you. I want to see you make peace, right now."

I stiffened when Dante jumped up and stormed me again. He gave me a brief, cold hug.

"Sorry." He said indifferently.

"You'd better be." I muttered, glaring at him before marching from the room.

As usual, Dante pretended the incident had never happened the next day.

It was my birthday, and it was Vergil who gave me the biggest present of all. It had been a long day filled with laughter, stuffing our faces with cake before Dante could eat it all himself, and opening present after present. The last guests to leave were Roman and Lorry, and they held Dante up outside before they departed. I never thought the boys could be so sociable, since they were raised in practical isolation from outside influence. But Vergil was polite, and I daresay almost friendly but that might be stretching it. Dante, inexplicably, had everybody clinging to him like some god.

We were out by the front gate to see my friends off, only Roman wouldn't stop talking, and Lorry was gazing at Dante with a disturbingly admiring look. It was disturbing because Lorry is so tomboy she's practically a guy, and to have Dante of all people convert her into a girly-girl was scary stuff. They were delaying their departure, and Dante was letting them. I could tell he loved the attention.  
Vergil gave my sleeve a little tug, and discreetly nodded his head toward the house.

"I'll see you guys at school," I said to my friends, and followed him into the house.

The ballroom had mirrored walls. It served as the classroom where Sparda taught the boys everything they knew, and it had served the same purpose for me and Vergil. I turned around and watched him curiously when he slid the lock into place on the door.

"Ready for your present?" Vergil asked expectantly, stepping closer to me.

"Uh... yeah. Okay." I said with an uncertain shrug.

Vergil drew the katana from its sheath. It made a clear, high pitched swish, and then he was holding the hilt toward me. I glanced at it, dumbfounded, and then my mind cleared and I looked at him incredulously.

"Are you serious?" I hissed, glancing at the doors nervously.

"I don't fool around, so yes I am," Vergil said matter-of-factly.

"But if we get caught..."

"We won't."

"But if we do..."

"Do you want it or not?"

"Hell yes, I want it!" I said, almost snatching the sword from him.  
I held it up, admiring it for a moment. I lifted my fingers to the blade, but stopped when Vergil spoke.

"I like to keep my things in shape. I wouldn't touch that unless you're willing to spill some blood." The look on his face told me he found my reaction amusing, but satisfying. I know how possessive Vergil could be, and for him to offer me to _touch _the Yamato was nearly inconceivable.

"Okay." I dropped my hand, turning the katana this way and that. I looked at him suspiciously. "And your mom agreed to this?"

"My mother doesn't know. Neither does my father," Vergil said, his eyes cool.

"Then what are they going to think we're doing in here?" I asked, glancing at the doors in alarm.

"Dancing." Vergil smiled, and flicked on a stereo placed against the wall.

Classical music blasted through the room, loud enough to make me cringe. I shifted awkwardly when he took position behind me, and he readjusted my grip on the hilt.

"Sword play is just like dancing," he said in my ear, his breath hot against my neck, and I suppressed the urge to wrinkle my nose. "It's not all in the arms, there's a lot of footwork that goes into it. Sometimes you lead, and sometimes you have to follow. You know how the dance is going to end before it does. Just never screw up on the steps, always remain aware of every move your partner makes, and you'll be fine."

"Right." I said, eyeing him in disbelief when he stepped in front of me. "You do know how uncoordinated I am, don't you?"

"If you can do Kung Fu, you can do this. Easy." Vergil objected.

He was right, of course. The stances felt a lot more effective with a sword in hand. We slowly progressed from stances to the different styles of swing, how much momentum had to be put into each with which limb. Wielding a sword turned out to be a lot more stimulating than I initially thought, and we worked late into the night. I think Vergil was getting as much pleasure from teaching me as I was getting from learning, and he was a brilliant tutor. By the time we called it a night, dawn was an hour away.

"This was the best gift ever, Vergil. Thanks," I said, sheepishly handing him back the katana.

"You're more than welcome," Vergil said, in his usual indifferent manner.

"I don't know why Dante prefers guns over a sword," I said, watching him sheath Yamato with natural ease.

"Dante is a fool. He doesn't understand a lot of things," Vergil said, and there was a laugh in his voice when he walked over to the stereo.  
Silence roared through the room suddenly.  
"Tomorrow night, same place, same time."

"Okay," I said giddily, and stopped with my hand on the door. "And really, thanks."

"And next time wear something a little more... flexible," Vergil said, pushing buttons on the stereo. He winked at me, and a very rare smile flashed across his lips.

"Okay," I said again, and unlocked the door.

Dante was waiting right outside the doors, a murderous look on his face. He had his sword drawn, point resting on the floor.

"Had fun?" Dante glared at me.

"Were you waiting out here all this time?" I asked, startled, sidestepping when he brushed past me into the room.

The little cold smile he gave was answer enough. "I didn't think you'd like dancing so much."

"Neither did I," I said quietly, half turning in surprise when loud, heavy rock music suddenly resonated through the room. Dante gave me a not so gentle shove out of the way, and kicked the doors shut behind us. I felt my blood run cold when he slid the lock in place – and broke it off.

"You didn't really think I was going to let it slide, did you?" Dante turned to Vergil angrily. "There is no I in teamwork, but when I looked over my shoulder tonight my backup wasn't there."

"I'm sure you did fine on your own," Vergil said calmly, and his eyes flashed toward me for a second.

"I'm going to kick your ass," Dante snapped.

"Dante, what the hell are you doing?" I shrieked before I could stop myself.

In all the time that I've lived in this house, not once had either boy lifted a finger to hurt the other. Their arguments would get heated, but that was the jest of it. Now Dante was swinging the Rebellion at Vergil. His body language read the same way it did when he was fighting off demons; brute strength, stylish grace, and the intent to kill.

They were a good match, though. Vergil blocked each blow with ease, and miraculously managed to block a load of bullets sent his way with a mere twirl of his sword.

"Tell me, what's really bothering you?" Vergil said almost mockingly when their swords locked in a power struggle. "You couldn't have missed me that much. All the kills were yours for the taking."

"I don't like your little plan you're brewing," Dante hissed back, and the power lock broke.

I yanked at the doors with all my strength, frantically trying to get it open. Eva and Sparda were most definitely fast asleep in bed, and with the ballroom being sound-proof, they wouldn't find us until they came looking for us in the morning. Screaming wouldn't do any good.

"Oh, I've got a plan, do I?" Vergil said as the brothers circled one another.

I gave up on trying to break the doors down, and glanced around the room in panic. That's the first time I really noticed that there were no windows.

"Don't underestimate me, _bro,_" Dante said evenly. "You've played your warped little game long enough. Why don't you tell her?"

I froze when I caught them both sending a look my way.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Dante," Vergil said carefully.

"The reason why you're so willing to teach her to fight, your little tricks to turn her against me," Dante said.

"I don't need to trick her to turn her against you," Vergil said with a sneer.

I watched them exchange a few more blows, frowning in confusion. "What are you on about?" I demanded.

"You don't care about her. She's only human, she's expendable. You're brainwashing her so that you can use her against me," Dante said through gritted teeth.

"Why would I do such a thing?" Vergil asked, amused.

"Because you know that she's the only thing that will stop me from stopping _you,_" Dante said, and went wild.

Or it looked like he did, moving so fast and swinging his sword through the air with dizzying speed. Blood spilled and Vergil swore. A minute later, Vergil was flat on his back on the floor with Dante's foot on his chest pinning him down. The sharp edge of the Rebellion was pressed lightly against an artery in Vergil's neck. Both boys were breathing hard, staring back at one another with all the loathing of hell.

"Are you crazy?" I exploded, rushing over and trying to shove Dante off. He stood unmoving against my effort. "What the hell are you going on about? He's not using me. I _asked_ him to teach me to fight, and _you_ make me hate you. There's no strings attached to any of this."

"There you have it." Vergil said calmly, looking from me to Dante in triumph.

"I _really_ don't like you," Dante said. He moved to lift his sword again, but I stepped up to grab his arm.

"Dante, _stop it_."

For a second I believed he was going to swing anyway and chop my head off, but his shoulders slouched back in defeat and there was open hurt in his gaze when he looked at me.

"I'm onto you," Dante sent a glowering look at Vergil, and stormed to the doors.

I watched him land a kick on it, and the doors swung open.

"Happy birthday, Cora," Dante added, giving me a cool, measuring look before disappearing down the hall.


	5. Hatred galore

I helped Vergil to the bathroom as soon as Dante was gone, and pressed a towel to the deep ugly gash down his shoulder. There was a lot of blood everywhere, and I fought against the irrational urge to faint at the sight of it. I managed to bandage it up tightly. Vergil was quiet while I worked on it. He winced a lot, but he didn't say anything. I thought he was being very brave, compared to my friends, Van and Roman, who would groan out their aches and pains.

"We're going to have to take you to hospital. That cut is pretty deep," I said.

"What is a hospital going to do for me?" Vergil snorted. "It will heal on its own time."

"Doesn't it hurt?" I asked, glancing up at him uncertainly.

Vergil didn't answer, and I licked my lips nervously. "We'll have to tell your parents."

"I'm going to bed," Vergil said when I finished tying the bandage. I watched him leave, without as much as a thank you.

There was a sombre silence that prevailed through the house in the early morning hours. I'd tried to find Dante when he left, but he was surprisingly fast. I gave up looking for him when the sky lightened with the warmer tones of sunrise.

I was sitting at the breakfast nook in the kitchen, watching with stinging eyes the day break through the open bay window. Sparda was the first to rise. He scavenged the fridge of just about all its contents, and I watched him put together the biggest sandwich that rivaled even those that Dante plastered together once in a while. He scraped a chair across the floor and sat down across from me. He devoured the sandwich like a starved animal. Each bite crunched through the silence of the room.

He rose from his seat to pack away the few remaining items. The empty containers and packets he dropped carelessly in the kitchen sink.  
He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and let out the deepest sigh. "Do I want to know?"

I dropped my head onto my arms and shook it.

"Where is he?" Sparda asked with an edge of annoyance in his voice.

"I don't know," I mumbled, and straightened up with a half-sob, half-sigh. "I think I should go stay with my Aunt Babe and Uncle Dill."

"You can't," Sparda's response wasn't what I expected. "Eva needs you here."

"Eva doesn't need me," I said, startled. "I thought you didn't want me here any way."

"What I want doesn't matter," Sparda said. "You can't leave, Cora. Not now, not ever."

I stared back at him. The bubble of fear his words evoked inside of me burst into sudden anger. "Because _you_ are?" I snapped. "Eva needs you a lot more than she needs me."

"You should stop your sneaking around. One day you're going to get in deep trouble, Cora. And if you tell her..." Sparda started angrily.

"What does it matter whether I tell her or not? It's not going to change your mind," I cut him off curtly.

In the brief silence that followed, light footsteps padding down the stairs floated toward us. I dropped my head back onto my arms when Eva glided into the room with a quiet and friendly 'good morning'. I grunted in reply.

"Oh, lord help me. That child," Eva scowled at the trash in the sink and started cleaning up the mess.

I peeked at her, and sent Sparda an accusing glare. He in turn looked very awkward and guilty.

"How did you sleep?" Sparda asked, scuffing at the floor with his toes.

"Very well, thank you, love. Are you hungry?" Eva asked, dumping the trash in the bin and wiped her hands on a cloth.

"Starved," Sparda said, and sent me a warning glance.

I let out an incredulous snort.

"And you, Cora?" Eva asked, and stopped when she looked at me. "What happened?"

I looked back at her and found the words wouldn't come. It felt wrong to tell her the truth. I didn't want to be a tattle-tale. And I didn't want my lessons with Vergil to end before they've really started. And I didn't want to have the weapons confiscated from the boys, because they would _hate_ me for it. Especially Dante.

I swallowed hard, glancing from one expectant face to the other. It didn't matter that I wasn't all that fond of Dante. It did matter, however, if he hated _me_. I couldn't explain it myself, but I really didn't want Dante not to like me.

"Nothing, I just... I've been looking for Dante and I can't find him," I finally said. It wasn't the whole truth, but why sweat the details if it was only going to cause chaos?

"I'm sure he's fine," Eva said, bustling into motion as she prepared breakfast.

I tried to keep myself occupied by helping with chores and watching cartoons on television. But my eyes kept wandering toward the tall grandfather clock. When ten o'clock hit, I turned to Vergil next to me for the third time that morning.

"He's still not back yet."

"He'll be back," Vergil sighed.

"Shouldn't we go looking for him?"

"He can take care of himself."

"Maybe we should tell your mom."

"Go ahead," Vergil said irritably.

Eva was upstairs in the study when I found her.

"Have you seen Dante yet?" I asked, knowing full well that she hadn't.

"No, sweetie," Eva said distractedly. "I'm sure he's fine."

"He's been gone all morning."

"Dante can take care of himself. Don't worry," Eva said. She finally glanced up at me from the multiple books spread out in front of her on the desk. "Cora, _don't worry_."

"If you say so," I said weakly and joined Vergil in the family den.

His gaze said 'I told you'. It didn't lessen the growing sense of unease in the back of my head. By lunch time, I had visions of Dante lying somewhere in a ditch being hacked to pieces by a swarm of demons.

"Don't you think that it's funny Dante isn't home for lunch?" I asked when everyone circled the feast laid out on the coffee table.

Vergil paused with a crisp halfway to his mouth. His eyes darted to his parents, back to me and he shrugged, popping the food into his mouth.

"He'll be home soon," Eva said comfortingly. "He won't miss supper if his life depended on it."

"He's hiding. Avoiding punishment. He broke the doors to the ballroom," Sparda said with a shrug.

"He did what?" Eva asked, shocked and then angry. "Oh, that _child_..."

"I'm going to look for him," I said, dropping the dumpling I'd picked up back into the bowl. I took a sip of my juice as I got up.

"Good luck," Vergil muttered.

"Be back by supper time. He'll be here, you'll see," Eva said confidently.

I grabbed my coat at the front door and slipped my feet into my worn out trainers. It was cold outside and the sun's warmth was dull. A frosty breeze chilled everything it touched. I headed in the opposite direction I had earlier that morning; instead of going in to town again, I followed the road less traveled by toward the countryside.

It became eerie when I turned around after a while and couldn't see the town anymore.

"Dante?" I made myself call out.

The leaves rustled in the wind and danced past my feet. The tall grass swayed restlessly. My head pounded in sudden fear when the instinctive warning of danger uncoiled itself. I held my breath, scanning my surroundings carefully. It was too quiet. I had to get out of here. I turned and staggered back with a shriek when a fiery blade slammed into the ground, missing me by a fraction of an inch. I lost my balance and fell hard on my rump, staring. It looked like a giant ball made up of eyes, and it was wielding several blazing blades. Its partner was just as terrifying, closing in on me from the side.

All the lessons of self-defence and fighting skills that Vergil had honed into me for the past several months flew right out the window. Panic and terror left me paralysed and at their mercy. I could hear Vergil's voice echoing in my head, _use what you've got to your advantage – emotion is the fuel that drives the machine_ – but how I could use panic or fear to fight off these things was beyond my knowledge.

I brought my arms up to shield myself. I was going to die, and that was it. No one would hear me, no one would even find my body. Still, I couldn't help the almost reflexive plea that accompanied my shrieks.

"Don't hurt me! Stop, don't hurt me!" I kept shrieking it over and over, my eyes pinched closed, waiting for the moment when those sharp blades would cut off my arms and penetrate my chest.

Nothing happened. The sense of danger didn't dissipate, not even for a second, but when I dared open my eyes I was met with a very weird scene.  
The demon was exactly where it was a moment before, and it had several of its blades lifted to swing at me. But it didn't move. It wasn't frozen as such, because it could still blink and stare right back at me with all hundred eyes. But the blades didn't come down.

In fleeting relief, I glanced around for Dante. He had to be here; any second now the demon was going to split in half, or it was going to explode. But there hadn't been any gunshots, and upon my second frantic survey of the area I came to the conclusion that there was no one else out here with me but these demons.

I scrambled to my feet in terrified confusion and ran past the demons. I didn't look over my shoulder to see whether they were following me – I assumed they were anyway and I ran faster than my legs could keep up. I was too terrified to register that I'd finally run past the Sparda fortress. I flew past people when I reached town. There were cries at my recklessness as I knocked into people, and I finally flung myself out of the main stream into one of the cleaner, unused ditches. I flattened my back against the wall, trembling violently now that I was no longer running.

Something shook my shoulder, and I jolted away from the touch. It took me a full minute to recognise the boy next to me.

"What..." Dante started, annoyed.

I broke into tears and flung myself at him in a hug. He pushed me away roughly and glared at me.

"I've been looking all over for you," I sobbed, rubbing the sore spot on my shoulder where he'd pushed me.

"What for?" Dante snapped.

"I thought you were _dead_," I wailed, and hit him hard on the arm. "I hate you so much, you know."

"I know," Dante said, frowning hard at me.

"Can you just come home please?" I sobbed, and wiped at my tears furiously.

"I don't want to be where I'm not wanted."

I hit him again. His eyes flashed at me dangerously.

"Just come home, Dante," I said, shakily getting back to my feet. I stared down at him expectantly. "I don't want to walk home alone."

"I'm not going back home," Dante finally looked away from me, picking dirt from his nails absent-mindedly.

"Then neither am I," I said, and sat back down beside him.

He gave me an assessing glance. Neither of us spoke again until dusk fell. I could hear his stomach rumbling, and every time I did I tensed. It sounded a lot like some demon growling through the dark.

"Let's get you home," Dante finally caved in and rose to his feet.

I stayed as close to his side as he would allow me.

"There's a curfew in place for a reason," Dante grumbled.

"I know," I said, frowning down at my feet as we walked. "I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I don't really hate you... that much."

"It's cool," Dante said. "I figured as much."

"You did?" I asked and looked at him. His eyes were everywhere around us, and he was twirling one of his guns in his hands. I glanced around too, but none of the shadows moved.

"You came looking for me," Dante said, and that familiar, obnoxious, arrogant grin crossed his lips.

"Only because no one else was going to," I said defiantly.

A round of shots fired off suddenly, and I jerked to a halt in my steps to see several demons explode into green gunk ahead of us.

"Looks like I'm on my own again," Dante muttered, pulling back his guns. Smoke curled from their tips, and he blew it away.

"That's your own fault. You put your brother out of commission with your sword. Remember?" I said tersely.

"What would you know?" Dante said.

"I know you two sneak around town taking down demons," I said evenly, and blinked at the stunned look Dante sent me.

"Who told you?" Dante asked.

"No one told me anything. I just know these things," I said with a dismissive shrug. The guilt was obvious on my face though, and Dante picked up on it.

"Have you been spying on us?"

"No," I said. It was half true – I haven't followed them in weeks.

"You _have,_" Dante said, and I couldn't tell whether it amused him or whether it made him mad. "What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing," I snapped. "I just want to go home, okay?"

"No, it's not okay," Dante shot back. "What the hell are you doing snooping around in our affairs, any way? You could get killed, you nincompoop."

"I'm not scared to die," I said, and cringed at the memory of fiery blades. Maybe I was a little scared of death, who wouldn't be?

"Yeah, right," Dante mumbled next to me. I glanced at him uneasily, and hugged my arms to my chest.

"Are you?"

I never thought about it before, but now the question resounded through my head. He had to deal with demons every night. He had to deal with them alone only last night – he had to look possible death in the face by himself. No wonder he was pissed off when he got home.

I'd always thought he was fearless because whenever he brought out his weapons, demons ran screaming. But maybe his reckless means of revenge the night before had been fear festering into anger. I expected him to come back at me with a witty remark of some sort, but he surprised me.

"I'm scared to leave my mom here by herself," Dante finally said, and slid his guns back into their holsters. "In that sense, yeah, I am scared of dying."

**~...~**


	6. Forever Changing

Tensions were running in constant currents in the house, and all I could ever do was hang back and watch things unfold. There was the awkward tension between myself and Sparda; I made myself scarce whenever he was in the room because I simply couldn't stand his presence, knowing how much he was going to hurt Eva when he left.

My demeanour toward him took a nosedive into disrespect that even had Dante chiding me at times. But despite Eva's persistent lectures about respecting my elders, and despite Dante and Vergil warning me that I was tap-dancing on thin ice, I didn't lessen my attitude toward Sparda at all. I hated him for what he was going to do. And I wanted him to damn well know it.

I wasn't the only one who had it in for Sparda, either. Dante could warn me all he liked, but he was just as cold and unapproachable around Sparda.  
And then there was the ugly, frightening, dangerous, and fragile tension between the brothers. It often peaked whenever I was alone with Vergil for my lessons –or rather, for our practice time. I could handle the katana with as fearless ease as he could now, but he insisted we both use the steel bokken that Eva had scrounged out for us, after Dante went and told on us. Dante would always join us and sit by the window, sulking as he watched Vergil and I battle it out.

"Can I test you?" Dante asked one morning.

"Don't be a fool," Vergil panted, and I didn't know whether he was talking to me or Dante.

"C'mon, Cora. How are you going to know you're good enough if your only opponent is Vergil?" Dante said.

"Good point," I said, breathing hard and blocked another swing from Vergil.

Vergil stopped and leaned on the steel sword tiredly, glancing from me to Dante and back.  
"He'll hurt you," Vergil said, giving me a look.

"No I won't," Dante said.

"He's too reckless. He plays dirty, Cora," Vergil said and shook his head. "I wouldn't risk it if I were you."

I looked from one to the other in confusion.

"Scared?" Dante asked.

"No," I said. "Vergil is right, though. What if you hurt me?"

"I won't hurt you, I promise. I never slip up," Dante said. He jumped up from the window bunk and sauntered over to us.

Vergil didn't look very impressed.

"Ready?" Dante said.

"I didn't say yes," I said, staggering away from him wearily.

"Let's see how well Vergil has taught you," Dante teased. I held my bokken ready with a resigned sigh, finding my balance.

Dante eyed the bokken Vergil was holding toward him. The next second the blunt sword clattered against one wall, there was the clear swish of Yamato being unsheathed and Vergil ended up sprawled on his back, taken by surprise. Dante knocked the training sword out of my hands and threw Yamato at me, then swiftly moved into position.

"Are you crazy?" I cried out, nearly dropping the Yamato.

But there was no time for reason or arguing, because Dante was swinging Rebellion right at me with startling force that made my blood run cold. I blocked each hit with cat-like reflexes, and before I knew it we were pacing the floor and sparring the way that Dante and Vergil often did. It wasn't a matter of thinking rather than my body being trained to make all the right moves, apply the right amount of strength, and use the exact angles to block.

I kept trying to convince myself that the swords weren't real, and that it was just me and Vergil playing around like normal, but Dante's fighting style was a bit different to Vergil's and I had to react quick when he threw the little unexpected twists at me. And I was out of shape. I'd been battling with Vergil for over half an hour, so it was inevitable that I wouldn't be in top condition to face Dante. I was getting more tired every minute. Dante, despite the complicated moves he was pulling, didn't seem to break a sweat.

"Enough. Dante, I can't keep it up," I finally panted out.

"You can do better than this," Dante said, and brought his sword down.

I dodged out of the way and my damp foot slipped on the smooth floor. I landed hard on my back and knocked my head into the floor. For a second I could see stars bouncing in front of my eyes, and then Dante and Vergil were both pulling me to my feet.

"Are you okay?" Vergil asked.

"It sounded like a firecracker went off," Dante said, and shoved his hand into my face. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"I don't know," I said, closing my eyes and swatting his hand away. "Ow, my head... my _head_..."

"It's okay, here. Sit down," Vergil said, and I felt something soft under me.

My head was throbbing and my ears were ringing. When I opened my eyes again, I was staring back at two identical worried faces with the coldest blue eyes.

"Who are you?" I blinked, wondering if my eyes were out of focus.

"Is that supposed to be funny?" One of the visions said with an insulted tone.

"Oh, great," The other vision said, straightening up and pushing his frosty blonde hair back from his forehead with both hands in an angry gesture. "Well done, Dante. You concussed her."

"Con-what? I didn't touch her!"

"Just stay with her. I'll go get mom."

I watched the one vision stroll from the room, and dropped my head in my hands.

"My eyes hurt," I mumbled.

"You _are _kidding, right, Cora?"

I forced myself to look up at the boy. "Why does the light burn my eyes?" I asked, blinking feverishly.

"I'm sorry you got hurt," The boy said quietly, plunking himself down beside me on the bunk.

"I want my mom," I said, and licked my dry lips. "And I'm thirsty."

The look that crossed his face was one you'd expect from someone who had just been told they have terminal cancer. The blood drained from his face and he appeared very forlorn as he gazed back at me steadily.

"I'm sorry." He said again and hung his head.

"It's okay," I said, confused, and put my arms around him in a warm hug. I couldn't help myself – for some inexplicable reason I felt compelled to comfort him. He tensed under my touch, and I held him tighter. It was a long moment before the tension slowly, cautiously, eased out of his posture and he relaxed.

He hugged me back uncertainly, and pulled away from me abruptly when voices drifted through the room. He glanced at me nervously and got to his feet. His reflection came strolling into the room, followed by what couldn't be anything but an angel. Less the wings.

"Cora, sweetie. Do you know who I am?" the angel took my hands in hers.

I shook my head, and nearly passed out from the small movement.

"Sparda. I'll get the car going, can you bring her, please?" The angel straightened up, and I watched her start toward the door.

That's the last thing I could remember.

The rest was a great big blank canvas until I was discharged from hospital three days later. Memory had returned, and it was a bit awkward between me and Dante for the first couple of days.

The only good thing that came of it was that the childish banter we were accustomed to using as communication was replaced by actual conversation. The really horrible thing was that I was forbidden to continue my training. Eva was too paranoid that I'll take another knock to the head and end up with a bleeding brain, or something of that sort.

I was forced to become a spectator while the boys received their daily dose of Sparda-directed fighting. Today they were sparring again.

"Too slow," Sparda's voice cut above the metal shriek of swords clashing and singing through the air. "Higher, Vergil. More force behind that thrust, Dante. Well done, Vergil. Dante, stop talking and fight." It was like watching one of the sports coaches at school bellowing military encouragement at his team players during a match.

"Let me know when you're ready to start the party," Dante said and ducked under a blade.

He did a playful twist out of the immediate vicinity of Vergil's sword length with a mischievous chortle.

"Come on, Vergil. You fight like a girl," Dante coaxed.

His words had no effect on Vergil. Where Dante's harmless taunts betrayed his careless style, Vergil's stony face portrayed the image of intense concentration and stealthy perfection. He had to be blocking Dante's voice out, because the words were rolling off his back like water over a duck's feathers. A trick I still had to master. Dante could look at me funny and I'd be wound up like a jack-in-the-box.

Vergil did a low spin and brought Yamato up in an uppercut swing, nearly knocking Rebellion from Dante's grasp.

"Tired already?" Vergil breathed hard when another swing of Yamato caused Dante to stagger off balance.

"Still warming up," Dante said.

I chewed my lip and glanced at Sparda. When Vergil started responding with his own banter, things tended to turn ugly.

"You call this warming up?" Vergil said with an airy laugh.

"Hey, I'm going easy on you."

"You know I'm going to beat you. As always."

"You're full of hot air. We both know who is the more skilled one," Dante panted.

"I am," Sparda said, his tone clearly carrying across his thinning patience. "Shut up and fight."

Neither boy said another word, but the fight itself became more heated; the blows faster, louder, heavier until it sounded like a drumroll with metal clashing against metal. Vergil slammed Yamato down on Rebellion, trapping it to the floor, and launched a well placed kick at it. Rebellion clattered to the floor with resonating defeat. Dante stepped forward, fists pumping. The next moment his body rammed into the floor after Vergil slammed the hilt of Yamato straight into Dante's chest.

"Enough." Sparda barked when Dante leapt to his feet and drew Ebony and Ivory from behind him.

"Lead always works in the end," Dante said, crossing the two guns and aiming the barrels at Vergil.

"Dante." Sparda's voice bore no room for tolerance.

Dante yielded a second later and twirled the guns in his fingers before securely sticking them back in their holsters. He spun on his heel, sulking, and strolled over to join me.

"You thought I was good, right?" He sat down beside me.

"Sure." I said, watching Vergil and Sparda begin a bout of sparring.

"He's better, isn't he?"

"You'd be just as good if you'd put half as much energy into your technique as you do into coming up with your wit." I said, and shifted away at the accusing look he gave me. "It's true."

"I could beat you."

"Pick on someone your own size," I retorted. "There's no victory in beating someone smaller and weaker than you."

Dante thought it over, and cocked his head to the side. "Touché."

I pursed my lips and turned my attention back to the fighting pair pacing across the smooth floor. I suppressed a groan of annoyance when Dante nudged me sharply in the ribs.

"Hungry?"

"Again?" I sighed helplessly.

"I've got a healthy appetite," Dante said defiantly.

I followed him resolutely, only to discover that there was one slice of pizza left from the night before.

"Ugh. You eat it," I said.

"We could share it," Dante said.

"Really? Okay."

Dante let out a dramatic groan. "I was just being nice, Cora. You're supposed to insist I eat it by myself."

"Oh. What?" I looked back and forth between him and the pizza, feeling my cheeks go red against my will. I frowned. "Well I _said_ you can eat..."

"It's cool. I'm just kidding. Here," Dante snorted, slicing the pizza in half and smacking it onto a plate.

I eyed the pizza uncertainly, and stopped to stare at Dante. "No, thanks."

"Come on, seriously. I'm not going to eat that," Dante mumbled through a mouthful, and brushed past me out the kitchen.

I stared at his retreating back for a second, then grabbed my plate and followed him to the family den. I settled down comfortably beside him, and sank my teeth into the cheese overloaded pizza. I froze when I caught him watching me.

"Hmm?" I frowned at him.

"Can I have a bite?"

"Uh-uh."

"Just one little bite. Please?"

I swallowed hard. "Fine." And watched him devour the rest of my pizza.

I pouted and folded my arms, watching the cartoons but waiting and hoping for an apology. I didn't get one in verbal terms. Dante picked up the empty plate and landed an unexpected and very greasy kiss on my cheek before slipping from the room. I wiped it off with my sleeve, wondering whether that was his means of saying sorry, or whether he just decided to wipe his mouth on me for spite.

**~...~**

There was no prior warning to the event that unfolded several months down the line. I was quite happy with the way things were, because despite Dante and I becoming good friends, Vergil wasn't as shut off and cold toward me as he'd been before I'd come to live with them. And, for a change, Vergil and Dante weren't arguing. Well – they were barely talking, but no talking was better than watching them cause verbal damage.

Eva and I were helping the local charity hang up the new draperies we'd spent an entire week sowing together in their renovated premises, when we noticed we had one curtain less.

"I forgot it in my sowing room. I was putting the final touches to it, how silly of me," Eva said in horrified embarrassment.

"It's no problem, lady Eva, truly..."

"I'll go get it," I piped up, jumping down from the ladder at the window.

"Oh, Cora, you're a lifesaver," Eva said gratefully.

The house was on the complete opposite side of town, and it was one of the very few times when the curfew was lifted for certain people in town. The charity work would continue until the early morning hours – it was a very labouring, very time-consuming task to turn the cold building into a warm and inviting place. I brushed past Vergil, where he was slouched against the wall just outside the building.

"Where are you going?" Vergil asked.

"Home. Mom forgot one of the curtains," I said over my shoulder, and froze at the small, strangled sound Vergil made. I paused to glance at him.

"My mother, you mean," Vergil said slowly.

"Yeah, that's what I said, you numbnut," I frowned and hurried away, feeling my face flush bright red.

I'd done it several times before, accidentally calling Eva 'mom' instead of 'Eva'. It was weird, and it happened almost naturally, but I still felt that achy stab in my chest when it did. I didn't have a mother, and that was that. I hurried through the dark streets, alert for any sound or movement. I was lucky enough not to run into any demons, and I felt a warm secure feeling relax my rigid nerves when the Sparda fortress loomed up before me. I walked up the pavement alongside the black iron gates adorned with the local green and red ivy.

The gate in front of me unexpectedly flew across the road, taking Sparda with it. I stumbled back in fright, and stared. The gate hit the ground with a loud resonating bang, and Sparda tumbled over a few times before he gained his balance on his haunches.

It was another demon attack. I made myself small against the gate, inching away as to not draw attention to myself. Sparda drew his sword, but he looked very unsure about it. I'd never seen Sparda off his game before. I edged away faster. I didn't want to lay eyes on whatever demon he was fighting, because it had to be something huge and frightening to have the Dark Knight this shaken. He looked even more battered and injured than he had after the last demon flood.

I did a double take when Dante came storming through the gaping hole in the fence. His sword was drawn and ready, and he swung it with outraged force at Sparda.  
Sparda blocked most of the blows easily, but there were the very few that passed his shield. It was awful watching metal collide with flesh.  
And it was insane. Dante was really hurting him, but Sparda didn't swing his sword back at him. Not even once. This wasn't just some training exercise.

I opened my mouth to interfere, but Dante's words made my breath hitch.

"Go on then, you bastard, and don't think you can set your feet back here again. I'll kill you. I will _kill_ you!"

Sparda blocked another hit, and finally managed to knock the sword from Dante's grasp.

"Get out of here!" Dante shouted furiously, standing tall in front of Sparda.

"Son..."

"I have no father," Dante said, and literally spat at the ground before Sparda's feet. "Get going."

Sparda shifted his weight from one foot to the other indecisively. His shoulders slumped in designated determination. I watched him walk away in the direction of the uninhabited countryside. Dante picked up his sword, watching him too. He stood for a moment, then he turned and strode back into the house.

It took me a long time before I could muster the courage to go into the house. Dante hadn't known I was there, and I didn't want him to know I'd seen the whole thing either. I headed upstairs to the sewing room, but paused when I saw Dante sitting on the top step.

He glimpsed up at me before turning his face down. "Where's my mom?"

"At the charity house still. We forgot some stuff, so I came to pick it up," I said uncertainly, watching his bowed blonde head for a moment. "Are you okay?"

"Sparda is dead." He said it so simply, and so convincingly, if I hadn't been there I would have believed him.

"He is?" I asked shakily.

"What do you need to get?" Dante asked with a quiet sigh, rising to his feet.

He followed me into the sewing room. I couldn't look at him without giving away what I knew, and I didn't speak to him at all on our walk across town.  
Dead. So he was going to lie about it.

I hung back when Dante and Vergil exchanged cold hard looks with one another.

"He's gone?" Vergil said.

"Yeah, why don't we throw a party to celebrate?" Dante said succinctly, glowering at his brother.

"You are being foolish about this. You don't understand..." Vergil started.

"Dude, I'm not interested," Dante cut him off, and barged through the door.

Vergil bit his lip in obvious annoyance. "You shouldn't have been there."

"Whatever," I muttered in reply and followed Dante.

Eva looked tired but happy when Dante went up to her. I strayed to the further side of the room, and watched them from the corner of my eye as I helped the others put up the last curtain. Dante had led her into a somewhat isolated corner and had sat her down on a chair before crouching in front of her. It looked like he was holding her hands, but I couldn't tell from this distance.  
I saw Eva's face change as he spoke to her. Her calm and peaceful exterior literally shattered right in front of my eyes.  
I knew then that things were never going to be the same again.

Eva gracefully rose back to her feet and placed a hand on Dante's shoulder. Her lips were moving, and Dante was shaking his head. The next thing I knew she'd shot from the room like a bolt of lightning. I dropped the peg in my hand and leapt off the ladder.

"We're not done yet," Lorry said as I walked toward the door.

"I've got to go" I called back over my shoulder.

I stepped outside. Vergil wasn't at his post. I halted in my steps when Dante rushed past me a moment later, and I trailed behind him. I'd never catch up to him even if I tried, and quite frankly I wasn't even sure I _wanted_ to go back to the house.

It was a bit of a walk, ten minutes at the most. I dragged it out for an entire forty minutes. When I reached the house, it was some ungodly hour past midnight, and still I hesitated outside on the sidewalk. There was a faint trail of Sparda's blood across the ground. It looked black in the dim streetlight. I swallowed down the tears stinging my eyes, and walked over to the fallen gate. My muscles screamed with strain when I tried to lift it, and it was a struggle to drag it into the front yard. I managed to wedge it up against the wall. I stepped back to look at it, and hoped that it would blend in with the wall enough for Eva not to notice it later. If she was going to believe Sparda really was dead, it wouldn't be decent to leave the false evidence behind.

I wiped my hands on my dress with a heavy sigh, and leaned back against the wall to stare up at the gothic style house.  
The sound of weeping drifted onto the night breeze from a nearby open window. I sank down onto my knees and stared blindly at a leafless sycamore tree a few feet away from me.  
Once again my world has changed drastically.  
The awful truth was that part of me wanted to blame Dante.


	7. Remaining trio

Because there was no body to bury, there was no actual funeral.  
Decrees were spread throughout town to call all the citizens to a memorial service in the town hall. It was one of the longest and most tiring days of my life. I held Eva's hand throughout the whole thing, but she was stronger than I'd thought she would be. She didn't shed one tear.

But the golden glow about her had faded into grey grief. It hurt to see her like that, and I couldn't help but glare at Dante past her shoulders every now and then. He sat quietly, head bowed and staring at the floor with a brooding aura about him. Vergil got up and left ten minutes into the service, mumbling something about having better things to do. Eva didn't even notice him leave.

Everyone else wept. Everyone else stepped up to the podium to confess what an awesome hero Sparda had been, what he'd done for them and how he saved their lives. It was pretty aggravating, considering that most of the men now singing his praise had always been complaining about having Sparda around at all. Now they all wore the deceiving masks of sorrow.

When Eva eventually braved the stage, her voice carried clearly through the hall, but it was trembling and strained with heartbreak. It was one of the longest and most beautiful of the speeches, because everything she said was genuine. It was enough to even bring a tear to my eye. I stiffened when Dante suddenly got up and stormed out of the hall. I sat for a confused moment, watching his retreating back. I glanced at Eva, and then I set after him.

He was walking way too fast for me to catch up, so I shouted out at him as soon as the doors swung closed behind me and we were making tracks in the dust.

"Dante!"

His pace picked up, and my temper took flame.

"_Dante!_ What the hell are you doing?" I shouted furiously, and ran to catch him.

"You can't leave your mom alone today," I said when I finally managed to grab hold of his arm.

Dante paused, and gently shook me off. "I can't stand to see her like that."

"What?" I asked. It felt like he'd just punched me in the gut.

"I'm going home."

I stood rooted to the spot as he started to walk away. "You're a damn coward, you know that?" I finally found a voice for my fury. "Just like your father."

Dante halted in his tracks.

"You can face an army of demons, but when it comes down to facing one simple human who couldn't squish a spider, you run off like Mundus himself is chasing you." I said.

Dante started walking again. I glared at his back.

"So that's it? You create a mess and hope someone else will clean it up for you?" I shouted at him.

That did it. Dante whirled around and stormed up to me, eyes flashing daggers of ice into me.

"I'm nothing like him," Dante said, snapping his finger in the direction of the far countryside. "My mother will be better off believing he's dead. I'd rather have her grieving for a short time than have her hoping and waiting for him to come back one day. Because he's _not_ coming back, Cora. He's as good as dead any way."

"How do you know he won't come back?" I said, not flinching when he shoved his face into mine.

"He's powerless."

"How? He'll have his powers back when he goes back into the demon world." I said, and deflated uncertainly. "Won't he?"

"You think Mundus would leave Sparda's power floating about in his realm? He would have taken it for himself by now, and I can guarantee that he's waiting for the second my father sets foot back there," Dante said. I cringed when he took hold of my arms and shook me. "If you tell my mother the truth, you'll regret it."

"I won't," I choked out, and rubbed my arms when he let go. His fingers had left their imprint on my skin, and I stared at it in dismay. Those were going to leave bruises. "You should still stick with your mom, regardless. She's the only thing we've got." I added coldly before turning and heading back into the hall.

The town came to a complete standstill for three weeks. There was no school, no work – it was the only way the people could show their gratitude for what the Dark Knight had done for humankind. A period of mourning, and reflecting on what had been lost.  
Eva got out of the house more frequently to join the other women in town with tasks such as braiding blankets for the upcoming winter, and helping serve soup at the local shelters for the poor. Part of me was happy that Sparda's disappearance didn't deter her goodness, but she was more fragile than ever.

I was in the back room of the house with her, sorting old clothes into boxes to pass on to those in need, when the boys stepped through the back door. I glanced up at them distractedly, folding a pair of trousers neatly. There was a companionable silence in the room while we worked.  
Vergil was sheathing Yamato, and Dante dropped Rebellion carelessly against the wall to shake off the dead leaves caught in his hair. Vergil mumbled something inaudible when he brushed roughly past his brother, and Dante lifted his foot to inspect the muddy sole of his boot. He scuffed it angrily on the straw mat and uttered a very heartfelt '_shit_'.

Eva leapt to her feet and whirled to face him.

"That is enough! I have had enough of that foul language of yours. I will have none of this, you hear me? No supper for either of you until you learn to behave yourselves," Eva exploded.

It was as effective as an eight week old golden kitten puffing themselves up into a hissing little ball. I'd never seen Eva that mad before, nor have I ever heard her shout at anyone. It would have been funny if things were still normal and Sparda was still around.

But I'd never seen anyone look that small and pathetic as Dante did that moment. Vergil stepped back when Eva yanked the Yamato from his girdle, and Dante flinched away when she snatched his guns from their holsters fixed to his back.  
She seized hold of Rebellion, and dragged it across the floor behind her.

There was a stunned silence between the three of us.

"Did she just-" Vergil said, staring after her.

"Dude, I wouldn't..." Dante started, and fell silent when Vergil followed her.

I didn't move from my sitting position between the boxes, and Dante didn't move from his spot either. Sheer shock held us frozen – there was an alien impersonating Eva walking around the house. Either that or we just stepped into the twilight zone. We exchanged looks when raised voices echoed through the house.

"...left us in charge, you have no right..."

"...don't need this nonsense in my life right now..."

"...can't do this, hand it over..."

"...am your _mother_ and you will do as I say..."

"...to undermine Sparda's authority even in his lacking presence..."

"...not speak to me that way..."

"...cannot be bothered explaining things to a human..."

Dante and I had been staring at one another in a dazed trance as the words rang off the walls – it was completely out of character for Vergil to backchat Eva, and now his voice was carrying a tone of disrespect that made even my past fits around Sparda pale in comparison. But at the last words, Dante jolted into motion and I followed in pursuit.

We were in time to see Vergil with his hand on the doorknob, Yamato gripped tightly in his hand. He was glaring back at Eva lividly.

"You set your foot out this house, Vergil, and you will never be welcomed back here," Eva threatened.

"Fine by me," Vergil said.

The door slammed with a very final bang, and Eva simply turned and headed up the stairs.

"I knew this was going to happen," Dante muttered, first staring at the door and then at the stairs.

"Aren't you going to go after him?" I asked.

"Why?" Dante said. "I never liked him any way."

"Dante, come on, he's your brother."

"Good riddance," Dante said.

I groaned and flung the door open. I caught Vergil halfway down the street, heading in the direction of demonville.

"Vergil, please don't go," I said, jogging up and falling in stride beside him.

He slowed his pace so that I could keep up.

"I can't stay there. They're holding me back," Vergil said stubbornly.

"From _what_?" I asked.

"Supreme control. Unimaginable power," Vergil said.

"Don't be silly. Not even Sparda had either of those."

"I know," Vergil said pointedly. "He could have obtained it if he wanted, but he was too weak."

"I don't think..."

"Everything revolves around might. If you don't have power, you have nothing."

"What are you going to do?" I frowned at him worriedly.

"Go home."

I stopped mid-stride at the tone of his voice, and watched him for another moment.

"You're making a mistake, Vergil," I called after him.

He responded with a salute, and I trudged back to the house in defeat. Eva had come to her senses in the meanwhile because she was pacing in flustered agony at the front door. The relief on her face was fleeting when she looked up and saw it was only me.

"If you hurry you can still catch him," I said, waving in the direction Vergil had gone.

Eva didn't need more prompting. She shot past me like a streak of gold. It still amazed me just how fast she could move.  
I went to my room and changed, clutching the phone between my shoulder and ear. Lorry picked up on the third ring.

"Hi, how are you doing, Cora?" Lorry asked.

"I need to get out of this place before I lose my mind, Lorry. Can I sleep over tonight?" I said, dropping onto my hands and knees to scout for my duffel bag under the bed.

"Uh... sure, I guess if it's okay with Eva..."

"She's not my mother. I can do whatever the hell I want," I said.

"You haven't been mucking around with cocktails again, have you?" Lorry sounded worried. "You always say the stupidest things when you're drunk."

"I'm not drunk," I snapped. "Is it okay if I come over? _Please_?"

"You know you're underage. If they catch you intoxicated on the streets..."

"Never mind," I said. I cut the call off and threw the phone dismissively onto the bed. I stuffed my bag with clothes, snatched an armful of snacks from the cupboard in the kitchen and shoved that in too, and tucked a rolled up blanket beneath my one arm before treading outside.

I settled myself on the roof of the town hall, childishly resolving to remain hidden there until I could muster enough courage to try and mug someone. I needed money to get to my aunt and uncle's, and begging wasn't in my nature. I lay on the blanket on my stomach munching on some of the snacks I'd brought with me. It was going to get cold when it got dark. I'd have to seek refuge somewhere else then – maybe Roman's place. I could hide out in the tree house for a couple of days.

Early noon I saw Dante weaving through the foot traffic far below. There was purpose in his stride; his back was straight and his shoulders tense. I couldn't make out his features from this altitude but I was pretty sure he was pissed off. At any rate, people were quickly clearing a path in front of him.

He was probably just as angry as I was that Vergil had run off, because of course, Eva wouldn't have convinced Vergil to come back home. That was Vergil for you – you could stand on your head and play the Britannica until you were blue in the face, he was immovable when his mind was made up. He was right, and everyone and everything else was just in his way.

I didn't want to go back, either. Eva would be crushed. Losing a son a few months after losing the guy she'd planned to grow old with – she wasn't that strong. She just _wasn't_.  
I took another bite of my peanut bar and froze when Dante suddenly stopped mid-stride and looked up. I ducked my head, and forced myself to cautiously peek over the side again. He was moving away again. It only hit me then that Dante might very well be looking for me.

I weighted the idea in my head for a few minutes. It was possible. But if he was that angry because of me, I really didn't want him to find me. I hurriedly stuffed my things back in my bag, threw it over my shoulder and gathered the blanket in a messy ball under my arm. I rose to my feet, peeking at the streets below again.  
I saw a flash of red in my peripheral vision and turned just in time to see Dante land a well calculated jump from the roof of a neighbouring building. His boots made a heavy thud on the ground a few feet away from me, and then we stood staring at one another.

"Monkey," I said the only thing that could come to mind.

Dante snatched the blanket from me. There was a shadow across his face, his gaze frosty as he looked back at me steadily.

"What the hell?" Dante said.

I pursed my lips and looked away stubbornly.

"Cora, you can't just run off like that."

"Where's your mom?" I asked.

"At the market," Dante said. "Were you planning on running away?"

He was looking at my bag in a very disturbing way. I shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, and shrugged in reply.

"You idiot," Dante snapped, yanking the bag away from me.

That's all he said. I watched him disappear through the door with my stuff, and then I uncertainly followed him down the stairs. I kept at a decent distance behind him. I hung back when we stepped into the throng of the marketplace. Eva was at the little shop that sold sour dough and ready-made berry pies, surrounded by a flock of women who seemed to be hanging on her every word.

They all wore concern and sympathy on their faces, and Eva looked pale and delicate as she spoke to them. She stopped when Dante joined her side. The look on her face when she saw the blanket and my bag made my eyes squirt tears involuntarily. Dante jerked a thumb over his shoulder in my direction, and Eva spotted me.

I swallowed hard when she strolled toward me. She crouched down in front of me, ignoring the hem of her dress getting stained in the mud, and gently shook me by the shoulders.

"Honey, why did you leave?"

"I don't know," I said flatly. I didn't like the weak feelings Eva somehow managed to inflict me with, and I blinked my tears away angrily. "I was going to my aunt and uncle."

"Oh, sweetheart," Eva said, and the barricade I was trying conjure up shattered before I could even properly build it. "If you want to go stay with your family, just tell me. I'll arrange everything for you. You're not obligated to stay with us, it's your choice. Just, _please_, don't run off like that again. My heart nearly stopped when I saw you were gone."

"I'm sorry," I mumbled.

"Come. We'll go home, and we'll talk over a cup of tea. How does that sound?"

"Whatever," I said feebly when she took hold of my hand.

I felt more guilty with every step we took homeward. I didn't think my leaving would cause so much mayhem for them. That's when I realized I _couldn't_ leave. It would make me no better than Sparda, or Vergil. Both of whom I hated very, very much right that moment.

Dante trailed behind us as Eva rambled on about checking prices for a shuttle to take me to the next county where my remaining family resided.

"It's okay. I don't want to go," I finally said when the house came into view.

"Really, sweetie, it's no trouble at all. If you'll be happier with them..." Eva trailed off. _I wouldn't blame you_, the words hung unspoken in the air.

"No, Eva. I want to stay here with you," I said when we ascended the front porch and stepped into the house.

"All right. Well, I'll make us some tea any way. Anyone feel like cupcakes?" Eva said. I paused to watch her glide toward the kitchen, and turned around when Dante let out a grunt beside me.

"I don't get you." He said.

"Don't try," I said.

"Girls." Dante muttered with a shake of his head. He dropped my stuff against the wall and kicked the door shut behind us. "Want to play some video games?"

Say what you want, it could be the worst time imaginable to be playing video games, but it served as a brilliant distraction to what was going on around us. Temporarily. Halfway through a round of boxing, when Dante finally got his groove back and was stuffing up my avatar, my mind drifted back to the present reality. The world was falling apart around us. Our family was unravelling. It was just the three of us, and the only liability was me. I've already proven that with trying to run off.

I put my controller down and looked at Dante uncertainly. He was biting his tongue and toggling the keys furiously, leaning sideways, eyes fixed on the screen. There was a few more 'kia' 'ooh' 'dammit' sounds coming from the television, and then the echoing 'K.O!' announcing the end of the round.

"Are you mad?" I asked.

Dante looked at me with brief confusion. "It wasn't that hard to beat you, Cora. You were barely trying."

"No," I said and slumped back against the couch. "I mean are you cross about... everything? First your dad leaving, and now Vergil gone."

Dante frowned hard, glancing from the screen to me. "How does any of that relate to our game? Unless you pictured Vergil's face every time you hit me."

"No." I let out my breath and dropped my head back onto the couch. "You know. First I lose my parents and my brother. Then Sparda runs off. Then Vergil stuffs up everything else. It feels like anything good I might have had is just slipping through my fingers, and there's nothing I can do about it."

"We're not going anywhere, and neither are you," Dante said. "We got rid of all the bad apples. It will be okay, you'll see."

"You really think so?" I straightened up to look at him.

"My mom's not going to abandon us," Dante said with a shrug. "And I won't leave her to fend for herself. And if you try pull another stunt like today, I _will_ find you and kick your ass. And then I'll bring you home."

I smiled despite myself. "Sometimes I really like you, you know."

"We'll be okay," Dante said and turned back to the screen. "Another round, or are you giving up?"

"Never," I said and picked up my controller.


	8. The Early Days

Thirteen.  
That number is one of the most superstitious phenomena in the universe. Bad things are attached to it. Nobody wanted to live on the thirteenth floor, or in the house labelled number thirteen, so society cuts it out of the elevators in buildings and very conveniently changes it to number fourteen instead.

Thirteen signified the ominous, the scary, the dark and dangerous.  
It was also the year in which a kid was officially plunged into the realm of teens. When racing go-karts down the street was viewed as childish and immature. Dante couldn't quite grasp where I was coming from when I refused to join him in another race.

"Afraid I'll win again?" He teased.

"No," I said, stubbornly hiding behind the dinosaur of a computer in his room.

"I can't race myself, you know."

"You wouldn't understand," I said, clicking on the same file for the fourth time. Scratch the dinosaur. It was a snail.

"What are you doing?" Dante rounded his desk and hovered over me, nudging my head down with his chest to get a closer look at the screen.

"I'm trying to get online to email Lorry."

"Why? The phone's right there."

"She doesn't get reception where she is. Do you mind? I'd like some space to breathe," I chided, and Dante stepped back with a frown.

"Well hurry up."

"I'm trying. This thing is so outdated, I don't know how it's still working," I sighed miserably.

"Here, let me give it a go," Dante said, and again my head was nudged forward when he moved closer.

Dante clicked on the file. Paused. Double-clicked. Waited a second. Jabbed at the keys on the keyboard impatiently. He let out a soft growl which meant he was losing his cool, and quick.

"It's not going to go any faster just because you want it to," I said.

"Who bought this piece of crap?" Dante muttered, and gave the monitor a firm tap on top.

"Your mom."

"Figures. Women don't know anything about technology."

I didn't have to turn my head much to look him in the eye. His face was hovering inches from mine, and pure impatience was scrawled across his regal features.

"Screw you."

"Do you want me to get this thing to work or not?" Dante scowled back at me.

"Peanutbutter breath," I replied, pulling my face at him.

"Let's see... here, I'll try this." Dante pushed a few keys, and several boxes popped onto the screen. Yes. Run. Yes. Install. Save. "There."

He moved away, and I went to click on the file I'd tried earlier. I double-clicked.

"It's the in..." I started, and broke off in surprise when Dante leaned forward and wacked the monitor from the side.

The screen suddenly plunged into blackness, leaving a single white dot dead center.

"Oh, nooo. What did you do?" I moaned, shaking the mouse and tapping it lightly on the mousepad.

"Is it rebooting?" Dante frowned, peeking over my legs at the computer box.

The little white spot flattened and spread into a thin, blinding white line that ran across the width of the screen. It intensed in brightness until it became almost blinding, and a high pitched whistle accompanied it.

"It's going to blow," Dante said.

"It's not..."

The screen shattered into thin shards of grey glass. I stared at the bloody fist being retracted, leaving a gaping wound in the face of the computer, and turned to stare at Dante in disbelief.

"Hey, don't look at me like that. I just saved your life. It was going to explode in your face," Dante muttered, lifting his fist to inspect the damage. "That hurt."

"Remind me not to ask you to fix anything ever again," I said, and Dante dropped his fist helplessly.

"Fine. Could you fix this?" Dante shook his hand at me, sending little droplets of ruby red scattering across the keyboard and desk.

I climbed to my feet, grumbling about big babies, and tugged him behind me to the bathroom in a not so gentle manner. I yanked the first aid from the top shelf and emptied the contents in the sink to pick out a disinfectant swab.

"It's not that bad," I said after I cleared off most of the blood and saw the thin little cuts on his long slender fingers. I paused when he gave me a cheeky grin.

"I like it when you take care of me," Dante said with a casual shrug.

"Well. Only because mom is too busy keeping us afloat," I said matter-of-factly, but my flushed cheeks exposed my indifference as fake.

"My mom," Dante said lightly.

"That's what I said," I frowned quickly, and folded a facecloth around his fist, gripping it tight. "Just wait a few minutes to stop the bleeding."

"Yes, ma'am," Dante said playfully.

It was weird, standing that close to each other and not fooling around for a change. The steady thud of my heart kicked into overdrive when our eyes met. Shaky little bumps of static tingled through my hands and turned my arms numb, and I wondered whether it was Dante having some demonic influence over me, or whether it was emanating from my heart.

The cheeky smile didn't lose it's intensity, and the twinkling amusement in his gaze didn't waver. Something in the way he looked at me stirred up chaos inside my body. It was a similar look to the one Roman often gave Lorry. An almost longing look, a desiring glance... time to get out of here.

"There you go, all better," I said, dropping the blood speckled facecloth in the sink. "You clean up this mess while I sort out the bigger mess."

"Hey!" Dante called after me, bewildered. "What was that all about?"

I didn't bother answering him, and pretended I didn't hear him as I bounded my way downstairs to the storage chamber. But I answered the question in my mind. It was nothing.

**~...~**

It was just past Dante's thirteenth birthday when Eva shared with us the completely unexpected and ridiculous decision she'd made.  
I was curled up on the couch under a blanket beside Dante, warming my hands around a cup of hot coco and wishing the furnace would heat the room up quicker. It was one of the coldest winters ever. Dante had half a muffin stuffed in his mouth, and Eva was sitting across from us on one of the single sofas.

Loony Toons were on television – a rerun but we liked to watch anyway. There was nothing else worthwhile doing since Eva had locked away Dante's weapons after Vergil had left a year ago. Fighting was forbidden, too. Eva didn't want us to continue down the path Sparda had laid out for his sons. She wouldn't admit it, but I thought she was afraid it would brainwash Dante into taking off just like Vergil had.

"I want you to take Dante with you when you go buy your textbooks this weekend," Eva said suddenly.

"Okay," I said distractedly.

"What for? I don't like bookstores," Dante said.

"I can't believe you're off to high school already," Eva said with a quiet sigh and a shake of her head. "I remember my own high school days. But I believe things have changed a little since then."

"A little," I mumbled.

"They have sports, don't they?" Eva said.

"Hmm. It's compulsory. You have to participate in one or the other sport. Healthy mind goes with a healthy body, type of thing," I said and finally gave up trying to watch cartoons. "I've signed up for hockey with Lorry."

"Do they have more... physical sports?" Eva asked, and I caught her glancing at Dante with a peculiar look in her eye.

"Yeah. I mean, the majority of sports are more for the boys. Like soccer, and basketball, and football. Or the other version of football. They call it rugby, I think. I don't know. They run around with a ball and tackle each other," I said, peeking at Dante in confusion.

"That sounds lovely. Wouldn't you like to try out soccer, Dante?"

"Noh," Dante said through a mouthful of food.

"You might find you enjoy it, if you give it a chance," Eva said.

"I dun goh do sool," Dante shrugged, and I smacked him on the shoulder in annoyance.

"Swallow before you talk," I chided and brushed off the crumbs that had fallen from his mouth onto my lap.

"Well. It's the new semester. It's a new start," Eva took a breath. "You're going this year."

Dante abruptly stopped chewing and stared at her in disbelief. I burst out laughing.

"You're kidding, right?" I said with a giggle, and felt my eyes widen when Eva gave me a superior look. "You're _serious_? Dante... at school? No, at _my_ school?" I asked, my laughter gone.

"You need to learn things. You need to be taught the ropes so that you will find your place in society one day. I can't teach you everything, Dante," Eva said sternly.

Dante stared.

"You will attend school with Cora. And don't even think about trying to skip it. The teachers will inform me of every move you make, so don't even try pull any funnies," Eva continued.

Dante made a strangled noise in his throat.

"There is no reason for me to keep you here at home. You need to get out and make friends. You need to get a proper education. You need to have a normal life, Dante. It's all I can give you." Eva said and smiled. "Besides, I think you'll be wonderful at soccer. You'll help him sign up, won't you, Cora?"

Dante turned pleading eyes on me, but I was already on my feet.

"You can't _do_ this to me! He's going to... you can't... you don't understand..." I stammered, staring at her in horror.  
"I might as well commit social suicide. I mean... it's _Dante_. He's going to ruin everything!"

Dante swallowed hard to get his food down, and frowned at me. "Hey!"

"Please, please... send him to a different school if he has to go. Or get him a special tutor. Or _anything_. I can't be seen with him in public," I said the last as if it was a topic not discussed in civilised company, because it wasn't. It was blasphemy.

"Now, Cora..." Eva started.

"_No!_ Please, mom..."

"Cora," Eva cut me off strictly. "Dante is going to school with you. Now, you know he's not as social as he ought to be, and he'll need your help to make friends. And I need you to keep an eye on him for me. I want you two to be there for each other. There are no two ways about it. He's going."

I stared at her for another moment, then looked at Dante.

"Get the holy water."

Dante shot off the couch and was halfway to the door when Eva snapped.

"That's not funny, Cora."

"Eva would never do such a thing to us," I shot back heatedly. "You're a demon. Or you're some... some nasty that's possessed her. With all the demons showing up in the streets lately it's not unlikely," I pointed a finger at her. "We're going to drive you back to hell, you monster."

Eva burst into laughter. She laughed so hard there were tears rolling from her eyes.

"Honey. You can call me what you want. Dante is going with you."

"Should I still go get it?" Dante asked uncertainly when I flung myself back onto the couch in defeat.

I responded with an irritated grunt. "I hate my life."

**~...~**

Nobody prepares you for puberty. I don't think anybody can, really. Bodies changing, hormones kicking into drive, emotions flitting about erratically, and the social standard you had to live up to.

Dante stuck to my side like he was sown to my arm for the first few days when school started. I stood by and watched him sign up for several sports. We had just about every class together. It was driving me nuts. I wanted to pull a paper bag over my head, because as you'd imagine, _everyone_ stared at us wherever we went. I felt like a babysitter being put on display.

It made it difficult for me to be myself, because Roman and Lorry and Van weren't themselves around Dante. Van who was used to having everyone wrapped around his finger, being the sports star at school, was sucking up to Dante in ways that had me cringing in embarrassment. Roman's jokes went from funny to down-right-dirty-Dante jokes that made me see red, and Lorry...

Oh, Lorry. She had 'I have a crush on Dante' tattooed on her face. When I tried to convince her that Dante wasn't all that wonderful and great, and that she was more in love with his title as 'son of Sparda' than _him_, it was like shouting at a deaf person.

Our lifelong friendship flushed down the drain when Lorry cornered me in the girl's locker room after school on the last day of that week. She stooped behind me with a murderous look on her face, and I stared back at her in the mirror.

"If we're going to be friends, then you should get over yourself."

"_What_?" I asked, turning to face her.

"You're just jealous that Dante likes me. You know, you're not the only girl in town," Lorry continued.

My best friend had just changed into a total stranger in front of my eyes. "Lorry, what the hell are you talking about?"

"He's not yours," Lorry said snootily.

"Well thank the gods. I don't want him," I said.

"He invited me over for tomorrow."

"He did what?" I blinked in surprise.

"He said he likes me and wants to get to know me better. So don't screw this up for me, like you did for me and Roman."

"Good grief, Lorry, that was _kindergarten,_" I said, shocked. "We were kids. And you don't know Dante like I do..."

"There you go again. How about you stuff off and let everybody else get to know him, too, then? You're like a bloody bulldog, going everywhere he goes, never letting him out of your sight. He's not your property, you know."

I opened my mouth to defend myself – to correct her, to explain that it wasn't my choice to stick with him, and that it was Dante following me instead of the other way around. But judging by the look on Lorry's face, that might be the worst thing I could say. She might actually attack me.

"Okay. You know what, you're right," I said and swallowed my pride for the moment. If lying was going to save my butt from getting kicked all over the place, then I'd do it gladly. "I am being selfish. He's all yours. I promise, I'll make myself scarce from now on."

Lorry deflated very slightly. "Now, Cora, I didn't mean you have to keep away completely..."

"We're going to be late for practise," I cut her off, pulling on my helmet and grabbing my hockey stick before fleeing the locker room.

I slammed a lot of shins. Accidentally. The teacher kept telling me off about it, but I repetitively told her that it's not my fault none of the girls were wearing their shin pads. This was hockey, after all. Bruises were bound to be sustained. While we were all getting back into position at one stage, I saw Dante leaning up against the bleachers watching us. He gave me a salute, and I lifted my hand automatically to wave back. I paused mid-wave when I saw Lorry glaring at me.

The whistle blew, and we were off.

There was a hustle as I tried to get that annoying little black thing that ruled the game from the opposition, and then Lorry was next to me, shoving me. My balance never was that brilliant. I was falling the same moment Lorry swung her stick, and it hit me full on in the jaw.

Pain blazed through my skull and I hit the ice hard with a 'oomph'. I propped myself up into a sitting position, and everyone suddenly circled me. My head throbbed once, hard, and I tasted blood. I spat out a tooth, and covered my face with my hands. _Shit_.

The teacher had a first aid kit out and ready when she knelt beside me, interrogating me about what aches and pains I had. I rinsed my mouth with a glass of water, winced at the small motion, and climbed to my feet.

"Cora, I'm so sorry..." Lorry started.

"I'm out," I said. It hurt to talk. I yanked my helmet off and snatched my hockey stick off the ground.

"Cora..."

"You just stay away from me, you psycho!" I snapped at her and marched off to the locker room.

Dante was waiting outside when I finally composed myself. He took my schoolbag from me.

"Are you okay?"

"She hit me because of you," I said coldly.

"Why?"

"You know why," I glared at him.

"I really don't," Dante said innocently.

"She has a crush on you. You know that much, else you wouldn't have invited her over."

"How does that relate to her knocking your teeth out?"

"She's jealous."

Dante looked at me thoughtfully, and tilted his head back. He got it. "Sorry."

"You just took my best friend away from me."

"You want me to cancel tomorrow?"

"No. She'll probably come kill me in my sleep if you do," I said and suppressed a sob. "I just think we shouldn't hang out. At all."

"Right," Dante said unhappily.

"It's not like you need me," I added. "You're a big boy now."

"Uh-huh," Dante hung his head.

I studied him for a moment, and let out an angry groan. "Don't try play that card with me. It's not going to work, Dante."

"What?" Dante asked.

"I know your manipulative tactics. It's not going to work this time, I'm sorry," I said and picked up the pace. "Getting assaulted by girls who think they're in love with you just isn't worth it."

"I'll protect you," Dante offered.

"Like you did back there?" I said.

"How was I supposed to know they're going to want me so bad?" Dante said.

"You're not all that wonderful, so don't bloat yourself," I snipped back.

"Says you," Dante muttered before I left him behind.

Eva hit the roof when I stepped in the house and she saw the mess I was in. I was forced to spend the entire night in hospital because Eva was so worried I'd gotten internal damage. Lucky it was one of my wisdom teeth that somehow got knocked out. It hurt like hell, but at least I wouldn't have to worry about not smiling for the rest of my life.

I got discharged the following morning and Eva whipped up a fruit smoothie for me when we got home.

"Honestly, Cora. Sometimes you get into worse condition than the boys used to. Remember that time when Vergil dislocated Dante's shoulder?" Eva was saying as she dropped a handful of strawberries into the blender.

"Yeah, but that was only after Dante broke Vergil's nose," I said, and froze when a strange sound drifted in through the back door.

I tiptoed over to it and peered outside cautiously. Was that –laughter?

I felt a twinge of jealousy then, when I remembered Lorry was coming over today. I slammed the door shut, cutting off the laughter and giving Eva a fright.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing."

"Cora, you can talk to me."

"It's nothing I can't deal with myself. Don't worry."

"If you say so," Eva said sceptically. "Um... well, I need to pop down to the charity today. We're baking buns and hot rolls for the poor, if you'd like to join me?"

"That's okay. I think I'll stay home today."

"Did you and Dante have another fight?"

"No. Why?" I asked.

"He acted a bit strange last night, when you were away. I think he somehow blames himself for what happened to you. Silly, isn't it?" Eva said.

"Yeah. Pretty stupid," I agreed weakly.

For a few minutes there was nothing but the grinding shriek of the blender going. I was thankful for it because it drowned out the voices outside.

"Here you are. You two take care. I'll see you tonight," Eva said, putting the tall glass filled with thick fruity goodness in front of me.

"You don't want Dante to walk you? There are lots of demons out on the streets lately," I said worriedly.

"Don't be silly. There hasn't been any demon attacks reported in years, Cora. They only retaliate if they feel threatened, and we little humans hold no threat to them," Eva chided dismissively. "I walk past packs of them every day, and any way, they keep to their own kind. If I'm not home by five, start supper up, will you?"

"Sure," I said. "Have fun."

"You, too," Eva called over her shoulder and then I was alone in the kitchen.

I looked out the window and watched Dante and Lorry fooling around on the swing. It was just a big old truck tyre we'd found, and Dante and I had tied it to one of the taller and thicker branches of the tree. We had loads of fun on it. Watching Lorry all over it now made those good memories feel violated somehow. I let out an aggravated groan and grabbed my glass before heading upstairs.

Homework. Jelly. Bath. TV. In that order. That would be my schedule for the day, I decided on my way to my room. I stuck in my tracks when I passed Dante's room. Heavy metal music was screaming from it, and I went in and flicked off the hi-fi. It was habit by now. I just couldn't stand his taste in music. In the silence I could hear their voices drift up to the open window.

_Damn it_. Can't I just get away from them?

I went over to the window and glared down at them. They were enjoying each other's company, that much was clear. It just drove the nail deeper into my chest.

I turned to leave the room, when something white jutting out from beneath the mattress caught my eye. I picked my way through the slush pile of dirty clothes and unfinished homework, and went down on my knees beside the bed. It was a book of some kind. Curiosity got the better of me, and I started to pull it out further.

The book was halfway out when I could finally make out the cover. I stared at it, shock and disgust and curiosity holding me locked in place. I forced my limbs to move and lifted the mattress to push the book back into its hiding spot, when I noticed several more tucked in deeper. I bit my lip and frowned. Okay then.

I pulled a couple out and paged through them. Well, I skimmed through them mostly. There were some pictures that just went beyond description. Revolting, disgusting, uh... revolting. The dictionary just held no fitting word for it. I glanced from the pictures down at my still flat chest, and glanced toward the window when another ring of laughter blew inside. I shoved the magazines back under the mattress and climbed to my feet.

I descended the stairs and burst through the back door – just in time to witness my best friend have her first kiss. I nearly fainted on the spot. Part of me wanted to scream at them; at Lorry for being so blind, and at Dante for being so... Dante. I restrained myself, though, and walked closer slowly when the kiss finally ended.

Chauvinistic, womanizing little...

"Hey. Cora," Lorry spotted me and straightened up, her face flushed a delicate pink and her dreamy expression quickly dissipating into annoyance and embarrassment.

I pursed my lips and stepped closer, peeking at the two of them sitting inside the tyre. My eyes wandered to Lorry's chest, and I folded my arms across my own firmly. So. That's why he was interested.

"There's room for you," Dante said, and I gave him a look that had him flushing in turn.

"In your dreams, Dante," I said, surprising even myself with just how cold and brusque I could be.

"I... hey!" Dante said when I spun around and strolled back into the house.

I shut the door and marched to my room, mumbling under my breath when I finally slammed my own door shut and locked it. It took me two hours to finish my homework because I just couldn't concentrate. Afterward I did some written venting in my diary, with lots of 'Dante is a perve' thrust in between sentences. When I dragged myself back downstairs to grab a bowl of jelly, I found the two of them in the kitchen.

What they were doing prior to my unexpected entrance, I really didn't want to know. It couldn't have been anything good, considering the startled and guilty looks they wore. I threw the fridge open and dished up too much jelly for one person. I watched the red mass wobble in my bowl while I fished for a clean spoon through the dishwasher.

"How about you leave some for us, too?" Dante said.

I shook the spoon at him and snorted in disdain. "What were you planning on doing with it?"

"Eating it. What else can you do with jelly?" Dante frowned at me.

"Like you don't know," I said in disgust. "No jelly for you." I paused in the doorway. "Perve."

That had Dante follow me. I managed to lock myself in Sparda's study without him actually seeing me. None of us really came into the room all that often. I sat down on the leather armchair behind the mahogany desk and swung myself in a slow circle with one leg folded beneath me. Chewing was out of the question because my jaw was still too tender, and I slurped the jelly up slowly, surveying the rows upon rows of books shelving the walls.

Dante called out for me several times, but I made no attempt to let him know where I was hiding. He could go to hell for all I cared. Damn hormones.

When I finally slipped out of the room it was just past five. I swore myself to silence and started supper. I forced the fake smile onto my face when Dante slumped into one of the stools.

"I've been looking for you all over."

"Lorry gone home?" I asked, avoiding to look directly at him.

"Yeah, her parents called to see where she was. She thought that was her cue to go home. Are you still mad at me?"

"Nope," I said, dropping the raw chicken pieces onto the oven tray.

"Lorry's a great girl, by the way. I see why you've been friends for so long."

I snorted in response and shoved the tray into the oven. I slammed the door shut and started to pull off the mittens.

"You're very much alike," Dante added.

I stopped to give him a measuring look. Was he trying to provoke me, or was I just reading too much into it?

"I don't think so," I said slowly, and threw the mittens on the counter.

"What's for supper?"

"Chicken a la king."

"Mom down by the charity again?"

I nodded and hung the apron back on its hook. "Keep an eye on the food."

"Where are you going?"

"I stink. Just please keep an eye on it," I said over my shoulder, but Dante was right on my heels.

"I haven't seen you all day. Can't you wait until my mom gets home? At least then I won't be all by myself."

"Ugh, Dante, I'm sure your friends in your room will keep you plenty company," I said, and stopped to smack my hand to my forehead. "_Damn it_." So much for my oath of secrecy.

"What are you talking about?" Dante asked edgily.

"Nothing. Forget I said anything..."

"What were you doing in my room?"

"You left that stupid music on again," I forced myself to face him.

"Were you snooping?" Dante asked, and then he got mad. "Damn it, Cora, you're going to stick your nose in the wrong place one day, and then you'll be sorry."

"So I've heard," I said dryly.

"Stay out of my room."

"Likewise!"

"I'm not screwing around. If I catch you going through my stuff again..."

"Like you haven't gone through my stuff?" I said indignantly. "What? You think I don't know you're _still_ reading my diary? You should read my last entry, Dante. It's all about _you_."

"You –" Dante pointed his finger at me, and I smacked it away angrily.

"Pervert," I cut him off.

"Those aren't mine," Dante said.

"That's what they all say," I said, and sniffed in revulsion. "You know if you're going that route, you should suck it up and take it like a man when you get caught."

Dante bristled. "Piss off."

"Gladly," I snapped.

I went upstairs, feeling gleefully satisfied for having the last say. He came off worse than I did, surely.

I soaked in the bath for a long time, until the water started going cold. I dressed in my P.J's and pulled on my thick night robe, hiding the fact that I hadn't blossomed in the physical areas like most girls my age already have. I slipped my feet into my bunny slippers, and was greeted with a cry from downstairs.

_"Cora!"_

I bolted when I heard Eva's outraged shout. I felt my innards turn into fiery flames when I could smell something burnt, and stepped into the smoky kitchen to face the black charred pieces of meat Eva was pulling from the oven.

"What were you thinking?" Eva scowled at me.

"I asked Dante to keep an eye on it. It's not my fault," I said. My stomach gave a grumpy growl.

"Dante's not home," Eva said crossly.

"It's not my fault," I said again. We both turned at the sound of the front door shutting.

"Something smells good," Dante popped his head into the kitchen, and gave me a sadistic grin. "And it's not Cora's cooking."

"Eva, can I hit him? Like, _really_ hit him?" I asked when Dante brought forth several boxes with 'pizza' printed all over them.

"No, you can't hit my baby," Eva said playfully, taking the boxes off Dante and pulling plates from the cupboard.

"I hate you," I mouthed at him.

"No pizza for Cora," Dante said.

"Come now, kids," Eva said exasperated. "Enough is enough."

"She started it."

"He asked for it."

"I'm not interested. Just kiss and make up already," Eva said, and fled the kitchen with her plate loaded.

"Ick," I frowned after her.

"You heard her. Put 'em right here," Dante said, turning his face toward me and tapping his cheek.

I grabbed a slice of pizza and gave Dante a steady look. I took a bite and chewed slowly. It was still uncomfortable, but at least I could chew now. My gaze didn't waver from his. I took another bite.

Dante sighed and leaned back against the counter.

"Are you jealous of Lorry?"

I shook my head.

"You sure? She was convinced you are. Said that you feel she's moving in on your territory."

"Don't know what she's been smoking," I shrugged.

"You're not even a teensy weensy little bit jealous?"

I snorted. "Why? You want me to be?"

"I always thought you had the hots for me."

I actually laughed. "Think again."

Dante didn't look happy with my answer. "I thought we were on good terms."

"This is as good as it gets. What did you expect, that I'd go all green-eyed monster when you move in on my best friend and I'll confess my secret desire to be more than friends with you?"

I dropped the smirk from my face when Dante licked his lips, and his eyes flashed a cold clear blue. Oh. Shoot.

He grabbed a box of pizza and turned to leave the room.

"Dante, wait. I... seriously?" I said in disbelieving horror.

He didn't stop, and I had to dart forward and pull him back by his shirt to get him to face me.

"Dante, c'mon. Spit it out."

"It's not exactly what I was going for," Dante shrugged me off. He wouldn't look me in the eye.

"I thought we were... you know... like brother and sister. I mean, we've been living together for years... you know it wouldn't work between us, right? We're just... not compatible, in that way," I was stammering the words out, and finally managed to shut myself up.

Dante looked like a puppy that just had his bone confiscated from him. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, and finally looked at me.

That one look said it all.

I didn't tear my gaze from his until I heard Eva come into the kitchen behind me. Then I fled the room, my face burning bright red and my heart making sick thuds in my chest.

Talk about the mother of all screw ups.

~...~

_**A/N: So... I'm going on the general idea that boys get into 'boy' things at around thirteen and up. I think it's fine as it is and I don't need to up the rating. And I'm tame with the cursing, in comparison to the actual games and anime which are M rated, so if you're into those things you can't flame me for the content of this chap.**_

_**With that said, I'm hoping I don't disappoint with Dante. I personally see him as an arrogant, sexist (aaah the dreaded S-word), troubled hot dude who plays the bad good guy in DMC 3 – I'm just conditioning his character to get to that point.**_

_**If you want more, the sooner you leave me a review, the sooner I'll update. As it is I'm not even sure whether everyone is reading or whether they have forgotten about it already.  
**_

_**On another note: thanks to all of you who have set story alerts and favorited this fic. It really is motivational for me to keep this up.  
And thank you Maite :) Your writing inspires me with new ideas all the time!**_


	9. Family business

"So..." I shifted to face Van properly, and rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly. "Did you find out about that job for me?" I asked, lowering my voice.

Things weren't going well at home. Eva left the house early and got in very late, working herself into a pulp to make ends meet. The only times I ever saw her was when she'd be passed out on the couch in the family den, or briefly when she'd rush past me with a quick 'have a good day' before going to work. It was just as well. If she knew the things Dante was getting into, she would go out of her mind.

Not to mention the things I was getting up to. Whenever I wasn't hanging out with Van – we decided to try out the girlfriend and boyfriend thing – I was alone out in the countryside. Looking for demons. I myself didn't have much effect on them, but my words certainly did. They would try to attack me, but when I'd tell them not to, they wouldn't. I still had to make one tap dance for me, but more often than not they would do exactly as I said.

I was still testing my theory. At this stage, I wasn't sure whether it was a common thing that everybody could do but just never did; or whether it was only certain demons that could be controlled that way. Or maybe it was just me. I've started leaning strongly toward the latter lately, when I mentioned it to Van. He'd looked at me like I'd gone mad. "Control demons? Cora, you need to lay off the weed."

The funny thing is, he was the stoned one when I brought it up.

Then there was my secret search for a job to help sustain our household. I'm underage, and no decent employer would hire me. I'm too young to even work at the market as a stack-hand. Which meant I had to resort to the scumbags who dealt in child labour. Van just so happened to know a guy. I had to suck it up, or we were looking at moving into a homeless shelter before the end of the year.

"Yeah," Van said from the corner of his mouth, and slipped a piece of paper onto my desk. "Told 'im you'll stop by tonight. Jus' tell 'im your with me."

"Cool," I said, straightening the paper out with my hand. I snorted. "Your handwriting sucks."

"You follow the line, man. It's a map."

"Got it," I said, and shoved the paper into my pocket when Dante threw himself into the desk beside mine.

"Hey," Dante nodded at Van.

"What's up, dude," Van drawled and nodded sluggishly.

I glanced from one boy to the other, and slumped back in my seat when an awkward silence veiled us.

Class dragged on for a merciless eternity. The bell couldn't have rung any sooner. Dante shot from the room before anyone else was properly out of their seats. Van and I weaved through the crowd of students to the lockers. We departed with a brief hug.

"Lemme know how it goes down," Van called after me.

"Sure thing," I shouted back.

I stopped in the girl's locker room and pulled my hair into a tight bun, watching my reflection with steady, cold eyes. I never would have imagined this would be my life. I really, really didn't.

I fitted a wig of black hair securely on my head, and carefully popped in green serpent like contact lenses. Next I painted my face, skilfully turning my eyebrows into dainty high arches and plastering my lips with ruby red. The tricky part of my disguise was adding the scaly yellow flakes to my cheeks and chin.

I slipped a plain ragged black dress over my head and stuffed my chest with rolled up socks until my figure was just as busty as any woman's. I painstakingly added the curving, metal nails to my fingertips – that was the most time consuming. A pair of plastic vampire teeth – a silly toy Dante didn't even know he had – and high platforms to give me height, and my transformation into a demon was complete.

The school halls were deserted when I stepped out, and I left my bag and stuff in my locker. It wasn't a far walk to the underground club. The streets were deceivingly quiet and peaceful.

The bouncer outside held the door for me when he saw me approaching.

"Ivana." He made a slight bow of acknowledgement, and I breezed into the dim club.

The bar was packed with demons, serving blood and gunk, and what else they had on their menu I didn't want to know. I descended a spiralling staircase lit with red neon lights, and stepped into total chaos.

Demons were roaring all around me, fists pumping, all eyes fixed on the steel cage in the centre of the room. The two occupants were being restrained against the walls by the demon bouncers outside the cage. The one demon was familiar – a big bloke with oozing skin and a reptilian tail that could deal a mighty blow. One of the best champions thus far. Only because I told him he was.

I settled down in my usual spot, right up high where I got a good view of the little arena. The Gator, as I referred to the big demon, was one of my players. I accepted the glass of yellow gunk one of the other demons handed me, and I forced myself not to smell it. I downed it in one gulp, restraining myself from gagging. It was the most horrible bitter lumpy stuff in the world that shot up my nose like brain-freeze, but I had to drink it. It changed my voice; the thick gooey gunk clung to my vocal chords and made my voice alien. Not something it was meant to do, I'm sure, but I'm the only human in the little hellhole. And it worked in my favour.

"How much?" I said to the greasy looking demon next to me. My accountant.

"Six hundred dollars."

"Not good enough," I shook my head. We needed more if we were going to make rent this month. "No fighting until we reach quadruple figures."

This unsettled the excited crowd, but after a few moments of negotiation, money was handed over. A little over a thousand. It was going to be a good afternoon.

I rose to my feet and spread my arms. The crowd thundered with anticipation.

"Go!" I dropped my hands.

The demons let go of the occupants, and a fight ensued. Bones snapped, blood was drawn, bodies slammed into concrete and against steel. The spectators were wildly cheering on their pawns. All bets were on the Gator, whom you'd think was no competition for the human-like kid, trapped in the cage with that monstrosity. The boy was shirtless, frosty blonde hair plastered to his head with sweat, his body marred with past scars and bruises from other fights. The Gator was impressive – but there was no demon to match the ferocious fighting technique of the Son of Sparda. I knew that better than anybody.

Sports weren't enough for Dante. When I found out he'd resorted to these underground, illegal fights, I decided to cash in. I swore to him that if he beat every demon I put in the round with him, that I would make sure his life and that of his family's was pleasant, and rich, and content. Of course Dante knew Eva was struggling, too. This was his way of helping. And this was my way of keeping an eye on him. Here, I was the queen and I owned him. Well... Ivana owned him. If Dante knew who I was, he'd kill me dead.

Still it wasn't enough. Not enough for food, and not enough to take care of Eva. My thoughts kept wandering to my supposed interview that evening with the dude Van had somehow found out about. I needed more cash.

Times were hard. With all the demons roaming around town, crops were destroyed and food became limited. Only the rich could afford to eat well. Money gave you power – and I needed that power.

I watched distractedly when Dante knocked the Gator out cold. I clapped my hands – my signal that the fight was over, and that my winnings should be collected. Dante wiped his forehead with his arm, breathing hard, and crouched down to recover from the fight. The cash was stuffed into a small tin box and handed to me. I accepted it and started to glide from the room, followed by 'good fight', 'more, we want more' and 'rematch' remarks.

"Hey," Dante called breathlessly. "Hey, Ivana!"

I paused to look down at him from my nose. He climbed to his feet tiredly and leaned against the gate in front of me.

"I need you to give me more."

"_What_?" I bit back.

"I need more money. My mother is sick."

"Pity. That wasn't part of our arrangement, boy. I said I'd let your family live contently. Nothing more," I said. My tongue slurred my sss and the gunk gave my voice a raspy, tinny sound. Demons had no mercy, I couldn't show any remorse for him. And I was well aware of Eva being sick. She'd been sick for a while. I wonder if Dante only noticed recently.

He slammed his fists into the gate angrily, and glared at me with eyes that screamed bloodlust.

"It's not my problem," I hissed at him.

"If anything happens to her, I'll find you. And I will kill you," Dante ground out, his face inches from mine. At that moment I was very thankful for the gate between us.

"Hmm," I responded curtly, and left the club. Farewells from the demons followed me, and then I was alone out on the quiet street.

I slipped into the unused storage room at the back of a butcher shop to clean myself up and pack away my disguise. I stuffed everything into a bag, wiped my face clear of makeup, and rushed back to school. I shoved the bag into my locker and grabbed my schoolbag instead. I had a major biology project I had to work on tonight.

I found Van's scruffy drawn map in my jeans pocket, and stood for a moment trying to make heads or tails of it. I followed it as best I could, and resolved that if I ended up nowhere I'd just ask Van to come with me the next day.

My heart made a sickening thud in my chest when I finally arrived at my destination. I looked up at the neon sign and nearly turned around to go back home. This was crazy. Absolute insanity. I glanced from _Love Planet_ to the double doors and back. This place had a reputation. Everybody knew what it was. What the hell was Van thinking, really?

I almost went home, but Eva's strained, exhausted eyes flashed through my mind. I straightened my shoulders.

Oh. Hell. If we didn't get the cash to get Eva to the best therapist this county had to offer, we might very well be facing another funeral in the nearby future. Depression was one of the deadliest illnesses for humans, because it was all in the head. Eva needed help. And she needed it yesterday.

I sucked in my breath and braved it through the doors.

It felt like I'd stepped into one of Dante's private magazines. I was just glad for the pink and blue lighting that hid my obvious embarrassment when women in the nude brushed past me, swaying their hips, high heels tapping across the floor.

Gross, gross, gross...

I was careful to try and not touch anything when I walked over to a couple of brawny guys posted behind another set of doors.

"I'm here to see the Italian guy," I said, and closed my eyes, shaking my head. "I mean, Enzo. He's expecting me."

"Whadya wunt?" One of the men muttered.

"Van arranged a meeting with him for me."

The two men exchanged looks, and opened the door for me.

A guy, that looked as greasy and slimy as the club made me feel, was seated in a padded leather chair behind a large desk. He wore an expensive white suit, tailor cut, his black hair slicked back, and his beady eyes on me was disturbing.

"Whatcha want, kid? I don't traffic little girls," He said, and I felt like slugging him when his eyes darted to my chest and back up to my face.

"Van sent me," I said flatly. _Bastard_.

"Eh, the weed kid? Come on over, take a seat."

I obeyed reluctantly. I didn't even want to sit on that chair, and I felt dirty when I did. I clutched my schoolbag to my chest uneasily, glancing around the wood panelled room. It smelled like pot and cigars in here.

"Heard you're looking for a job."

"Yes," I said.

"Got a resume on ya?"

"Are you joking?" I stared at him. "I don't have one. That's why I'm _here_."

"Right, right, right. It's formality, is all. Tell me, eh... Cara..."

"Cora," I corrected.

"What can you do?"

"What every other teenager can," I frowned. "What kind of question is that?"

"Look, kid, help me help you, alright? What can you do that's different to other kids your age? What do you specialize in?"

"I... I can clean," I said weakly.

The guy burst into ugly laughter. "Nah, nah, sweet cheeks. I already got that position filled."

"I can work at the bar," I said uncertainly. "I'm a quick learner."

"Hmm-mm. Police will be breathing down my throat, they see a minor working with alcohol."

"Well..." I said, trying to brainstorm when the doors suddenly flung open.

"Boss. We got trouble in back again." One of the guys popped his head inside.

"Damn it." The guy stood up and reached for a shotgun mounted above the shelf behind him. "Damn those demons, always tryin' to get my girls when they doin' their thing..."

My saving light. "I can get rid of them for you," I said.

"Heh heh, yeh, kid, you just stay here. I'll be back in a jiff."

I got up and followed him and three other big guys. Shrieks were coming from the back of the club, and I watched him hoist the gun into place and aim at a terrified half dressed woman with a demon latched onto her back.

I stepped forward, pushing the long barrel of his gun downward. He swore at me.

"Get out," I said, slow and clear.

The demon dropped off the woman's back like a tick falling off a dog. It slinked toward the exit, its companions close behind it. There was a full moment of stunned silence.

"Well now." The Italian guy turned to me with a tobacco stained grin. "I do believe we have got just the job for ya." He extended his hand to me. "Call me, Enzo."

"Okay. Enzo," I said. I didn't take his hand. I couldn't make myself touch him without shuddering.

"Yeh. Yeh," He said thoughtfully, watching me with amazed beady eyes. "Step into my office, Cora. We'll talk business."


	10. Boys

Had I known just what a slave-driver Enzo was, I would have resorted to stealing instead. I dragged myself back into the house well past eleven that night. Chasing off demons – not exactly what I had in mind as a sideline job, but it was going to help us a hell of a lot. The wad of green bills bulging in my pocket predicted that much.

The beeper Enzo had given me went off just as I touched the doorknob. I shut it down with a flash of irritated fatigue. I had school tomorrow, I told him, but the thing about Enzo was that once he latched onto the prospect of making money, he pushed it to the extremes.

I quietly closed the front door behind me and locked it, wondering what I'd gotten myself into. I grabbed a glass of milk from the fridge and paused in the family den to scan through the channels on T.V. Nothing was on this late at night. I flicked it off and headed upstairs. Eva was fast asleep in her room, and I closed the door softly. I paused outside Dante's room. No music was blaring from it, and when I tried the door it was locked. I felt a twinge of premonition. He wasn't home yet?

I pressed my ear to the door, straining hard to listen for any sound that the room was occupied. No snoring, no shuffling. Complete silence. I glanced at my watch again. Quarter past twelve.  
Shit.

I added the roll of bills to my secret stash in the wall, moving my mirror back in place to hide the hole. I pulled on one of my thicker coats and hurried downstairs, adrenaline making me forget just how tired I was. Nothing good ever happened after twelve.

I stepped back out into the cool night, and paused with the door halfway closed behind me when a police cruiser pulled up right outside the gates. Relief flooded me, followed closely by a feeling very much like frustration.

I folded my arms across my chest and waited for the two police officers to steer a battered Dante toward me.

"Evening, Cora."

"Evening, officer," I said with a slight nod. "What's he done now?"

"Let go of me," Dante shrugged their hands off his shoulders in brute annoyance.

"Caught him with a bike that was reported stolen earlier tonight."

"Did he do any damage?" I asked tiredly.

"There was just about nothing left of it." The officer handed me a slip of paper. "Here's the owner's details."

"Right. Thank you for bringing him home," I took the paper and sighed when Dante brushed past me into the house.

"You've got to get Eva to put a shorter leash on him. One of these days he's going to hurt somebody." One of the officers told me.

"He nearly rammed into one of our other police cars," the other said.

"Sure. I'll see what I can do," I said, and stepped into the house. "Good night."

I shut the door and locked it, and closed my eyes tiredly for a moment. Hell, if only I _could_ tell Eva. Trying to provide for this family and juggling my education at the same time was hard as it was, without the added nuisance of trying to parent Dante as well.

He was slouched on the couch in the family den catching the tail end of some action packed show. I sighed heavily and sat down on the coffee table right in front of him, blocking his view of the screen.

"That's the ninth time this week, Dante," I said.

Dante looked at me angrily. "If you're going to lecture me again, save your breath." He turned the volume up, and I snatched the remote from his hand. I switched off the television and threw the remote at him hard. It made a loud smack where it hit him in the chest.

"I don't know what your problem is, and I couldn't give a shit. Just don't drag me down with you," I said.

He looked down at the remote in his lap, surprised, and then he stared at me uncertainly.

"What's your malfunction, Cora?"

"_You_ are my malfunction," I snapped, and stopped to regain my composure. "You know what? I don't care anymore. Do what you want, Dante. You never listen to me anyway."

"Where you going?" he asked when I got up.

"I've got homework."

"Homework? What have you been doing all afternoon?" Dante frowned at me.

I glanced at him in contempt. "Working."

"Pfft," Dante snorted, and got to his feet. "I'm sure it must have been tough."

"Piss off," I said.

I didn't know he'd followed me until I was spreading my textbooks on my bed.

"You know, you remind me a lot of Vergil lately," Dante said, and I glanced at him for a long moment.

"You're really uptight," Dante added. "I never asked you to watch out for me."

"You shouldn't have to ask," I said quietly and felt blindly in my bag for a pen and ruler.

"I've just had a super crap day," Dante faltered and threw himself down onto my bed. I wrinkled my nose.

"You smell like demon, Dante."

"I _am_ a demon."

"Get off my bed."

Dante turned onto his stomach and gave my homework a sulking look. He pursed his lips and sighed.

"Lorry broke up with me this morning."

I froze over my work and studied his face for a second. I shrugged awkwardly. "These things happen, you know."

"I guess," Dante flopped over onto his back with a resigned sigh. "I met this really hot girl this afternoon, though. She's a bit older than me, but that's cool. I think you'd like her."

I stared at him, and rolled my eyes skyward. "No surprises there."

"How are things with you and Van?" It sounded strained – like he didn't really want to know the answer.

"Oh, it's a high," I shrugged, paging through my textbook to the allocated homework section. "You know, all the time. I don't think Van really knows I'm there half the time."

"And you're cool with hanging out with a guy like that?"

"What's wrong with Van?" I said, and narrowed my eyes when Dante rolled over to stare at me.

"You and I should hook up."

"Not going to happen."

"You prefer that deadbeat over me?"

"Pretty much," I said and turned my attention back to my work.

"What the hell?"

"He's low maintenance," I said without looking at him. We'd had this discussion so often that my answers were almost automated. The awkwardness between us was lacking, and it was purely a heated battle of wills.

"He's a wuss. What's he going to do if you're in trouble one day? Smoke a joint?"

"You can have any girl in town with a snap of your fingers. I don't know why you're so hung up on me. You know I don't like you."

"Yeah, but I like _you_."

"Dante," I gave him a frustrated look. "Homework. See? Busy. Distraction. Why don't you go to bed?"

"I think I'll sleep here tonight."

"You reek. Get out of my room."

"Make me."

"Fine," I snapped, slamming my pen down and getting up. I rounded the bed and stood with my hands on my hips, glaring at his playful smirk. "I'll give you to the count of three to get out."

"Or you're going to do what?" Dante asked in amusement.

I wrung my hands together. "One."

Dante put his arms behind his head and watched me with gleaming eyes. I grabbed hold of his feet and yanked him off the bed. I'd caught him off guard because he wasn't able to stop from hitting the ground hard on his back, and then I was dragging him struggling from my room.

"Ow..._ow_, carpet burn!" He shouted.

I dropped his legs unceremoniously outside in the hall, stifling a giggle when his boot came off in my hand, and I turned to him quickly. "Will you shut up? You're going to wake Eva," I hissed at him.

Dante swung his leg and slammed me right off my feet. I hit the ground with a loud thud, and then he had me in a wrestling lock.

"What the hell are you doing?" I choked out.

"You started it," Dante breathed back in my face, and I almost gagged.

"Get off me. I don't have time to play, Dante."

"Then make me get off you."

I stopped struggling and gave him a deathly glare. "We've got school in a few hours. I'd like to try get some sleep before then."

"Work, work, work. You're so boring."

"Let me go."

Dante's grin widened mischievously. "Can't get lose, can you?"

"Stating the obvious," I winced when his grip tightened. "Seriously, I'm not in the mood, Dante."

He leaned closer, and I tried to press my head into the floor. His breath smelled like pepperoni and pineapples. His face hovered inches from mine, and his smile became suddenly very unsettling.

"Gimme a kiss and I'll let you go."

"What about that hot girl you mentioned like two minutes ago?"

"I can have both, can't I?"

"Don't be a retard," I said, and cringed when his lips came down on mine.

Static jolted through me and my heart bumped erratically in my chest. My resistance melted. I didn't know his lips were that soft. Or that he was such a good kisser – pepperoni breath be damned. It felt like my body was soaring off the floor.

The distinct click of a door opening rocketed through the trance, and reality snapped me out of it when my instincts screamed at me that we'd woken up Eva.

I could feel the boot in my hand, and I brought it up and hit him hard on the head.

Dante wrenched away from me and sat back on his knees, rubbing his head and staring at me as if I'd just slapped him out of a dream. I scrambled to my feet when a sleepy Eva's voice spoke.

"What are you two still doing up?"

"Homework," I gasped out, and launched the boot at Dante before fleeing to my room.

I heard their muffled voices through my door, and I knelt down beside my bed. I stared at my homework blindly, and then dropped my head onto the bed. Dammit, dammit, dammit...

A door closed down the hall. There was a light knock on my own, and then an uncertain "hey."

I forced myself to look up at him, and we stared at one another awkwardly.

"It's really late," I finally broke the silence.

"Yeah... I know," Dante said sheepishly. "Could you help me out for a sec?"

"With what?" I asked, and frowned when he locked the door behind him.

I stared for a full minute in horrific embarrassment when he pulled his shirt off. "Moving a bit fast, aren't you?"

Dante gave me a smirk and flopped down on the bed in front of me with a shake of his head. "I like the way you're thinking, but no. Check my back, will you?"

I climbed onto the bed behind him, and took a sharp breath at the deep diagonal gash running down his back. "Geeze, Dante. Why didn't you say anything? I dragged you across the floor, for heaven's sake."

"Is it bad?" Dante asked, childishly trying to peek at it over his shoulder.

"Yeah," I stared, and then remembered I was supposed to be oblivious to his spare time activities. "What happened?"

"Uh... I fell?" Dante shrugged, and I laughed.

"I'll go get the first aid."

You'd be amazed at how routine it becomes when you have to sow shut wounds and tend broken bones on a weekly basis. I didn't think the Gator had gotten him this good, though. Dante was brilliant at feigning painlessness, but I felt the tension in his back every time I pierced the needle through his skin.

"You look like a piece of art," I commented when I was finally done. "Sculpted by a demented artist, that is."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Dante said.

"Done."

"Thanks," Dante snatched his shirt off the floor, and blew me one of those arrogant little wise-ass kisses. "Sweet dreams."

By the time I finished my homework, Eva was up and bustling around getting ready for work. I was going to be a zombie at school today.

"How did you sleep?" I asked while Eva towelled her long hair dry at her dresser.

She glanced at me in the mirror, and the look on her face was disturbing. "Just fine."

"Sorry we woke you last night," I said. "Dante was being an idiot."

Eva ran a comb through her golden hair, and turned to face me with a grave expression.

"Please be careful, Cora."

I frowned back at her in confusion when she stood up and pulled on a beautiful purple coat. "I know how it is with teenagers. Sparda and I were the same. Just..." Eva shook her head at me worriedly. "Please be careful. We can't afford any accidents."

"What?" I asked stupidly.

"It's lovely if you and Dante are together. Really, nothing makes me more happy than knowing you two are happy. But you need to take care with these things."

"Oh. _Good grief_, Eva. We're not together," I said in horrified realization. She'd seen us then.

"Then what was last night all about?" Eva asked, freezing suddenly to frown at me.

"I told you. Dante was being an idiot," I said. "And I'm with Van, remember?"

Eva thought it over for a second, and then she went slightly pale. "Oh. That's... oh. Do you want me to talk to Dante?"

"Please don't."

"Oh. Alright. I've been talking to your uncle Dill lately. You might need to move in with them," Eva said distractedly wrapping a scarf around her neck, and stopped to look at me worriedly. "I mean, it's not because of last night, Cora, I've been thinking about it for a while..."

"I know," I said. "Things are tough. Don't explain."

"It's just that, I'm barely keeping up with rent and there's practically nothing to eat, and your family are willing to pay for your education if you transfer schools and go live with them. I just..." Eva stopped, straining against tears. "I'm sorry, Cora. I just don't know how long I'll be able to provide for all of us."

"It's okay," I said, pursing my lips hard and avoiding her gaze. "I get it. And just so you know, you don't have to worry about me and Dante. We'll be good."

"Good," Eva said, and I could almost see the worry roll off her shoulders. "Well, I'm off. You have a good day."

"You, too," I said and stood for a while longer, staring at her room after she left.

I dressed for school and bounded out the back door when Dante tried to corner me in the back room. The walk to school was refreshing in the sense that the chilly air properly woke me up. I reached my locker just as the first bell rang.

"How'd it go?" Van asked suddenly behind me, putting his arms around me in a friendly hug.

"Uh, fine. I got it," I said, glancing over my shoulder at him.

"You're in a bad mood."

I turned to face him. "Dante kissed me last night."

Nothing brings a guy down to earth quite as fast as a testosterone rush. The dazed expression fled Van's face and his golden eyes flashed in possessive fury. "He did _what_?"

"Go for his right shoulder. He hurt it yesterday," I said with a shrug. "I'll catch you at lunch, babe." I landed a quick kiss on his lips. "Love you."

Lorry caught me after third period, wearing a forlorn and angry face.

"You never told me what a dick Dante was," she said.

"I thought you wanted to see for yourself," I said bluntly.

"I know you warned me, but sheesh. He's the biggest prick to ever walk the earth."

"He's not _that_ bad," I said, and frowned when she fell in stride beside me. "I'm heading to the science lab, Lorry."

"I can't believe how stupid I was. I mean... I just couldn't stand him anymore, you know?"

"We don't have science together," I said.

"I stuck it out for a while because, well, he's really charming and sweet when he wants to be. But when you get beneath that exterior and get to see his true colours... he was just driving me mad."

"Hey, look," I stopped to face her squarely. "We're not friends. I'm not interested. Now do me a favour and piss off before I do your pretty little face in."

I left her standing gutted in the middle of the hallway. Who needed friends that didn't have your back, regardless of whatever life threw at you, after all? Not that I had time for friends anyway.

When the lunch bell rang and I made my way to the cafeteria along with the swarm of students, a scene very much like the one in the underground club was unfolding center stage. Dante and Van were in a wild fight, and the kids around them were shouting encouragement. I hung at the back of the crowd to watch.

Dante had blood running from his nose, and Van's one eye was starting to swell like a big purple fig. I thought I'd cheer when Van swung a good blow and hit Dante straight on his weak point, but there was no glee of victory in me when Dante staggered back and swung his own fist in response. It slammed into Van's gut, and then they were wrestling one another on the floor.

The surrounding kids were ecstatic. I saw several of the teachers backed up against the walls. No one was going to break this up – nobody was crazy enough to step in the path of a half-demon's fury.

They were going to call Eva and get her down here if I didn't do something. I weaved through the crowd and stepped into the clear circle just as Van pulled a classic tombstone manoeuvre and Dante crashed to the floor.

"That's enough. No, Van," I snapped, shoving him away when he aimed a kick at Dante. "_Enough_."

"I'll rip your head off," Van spat at him.

"Ha, I'd like to see you try," Dante said, and I shot him a warning look.

"Stop it right now, you guys," I chided, and glared at Dante. "You know better than to hit him back, Dante. I thought you'd figured that much, being super human and all."

"I was defending myself. The freak just attacked me out of the blue."

"You think you can do anything, don't you? Just because you're a son of Sparda. Well, you know what, dickhead? Sparda's not around anymore!" Van snapped back.

"Whow, whow, whow," I said, shoving Van back harshly when Dante leapt to his feet.

"What did you say?" Dante growled.

"Let's not make this personal," I said and glared at Van. "That was uncalled for."

"He made it personal when he put his hands on you," Van said, jabbing an angry finger toward Dante.

"Oh, for heaven's sake..." I started.

"Wait. You _told_ him?" Dante snapped. I glanced at him over my shoulder. "Nice one, Cora."

"Well, you ought to know you can't just do things like that, Dante," I said and turned to face him. "You never listen so I had to show you I meant it. I'm with _Van_."

"Huh," Dante said. He was clearly not impressed, and his eyes were icy when he gave me a once-over. "Not for long."

"Oh, just quit it!" I shouted when Van leapt past me and did a good head-butt in Dante's stomach, sending both boys rolling across the floor. I watched them in frustration, and looked down when the beeper in my pocket went off.

Enzo. I glanced at the fighting ball consisting of arms and legs, and turned to leave the cafeteria. To hell with school, and the boys.

I'll deal with them later. I had to focus on getting us back on our feet at home. I didn't want to go stay with my surviving family. I didn't want to leave Eva, not with Dante being more than a handful. And admittedly, I didn't want to leave Dante. As annoying and impossible as he was, life would just suck eggs without him in it.

And he _was_ a damn good kisser. I was trying to convince myself that that had nothing to do with wanting to stay so badly on my way to the strip club. I knew Dante too well – it just wasn't feasible that we could be more than... well, whatever the hell we were.


	11. All about control

Sleep deprivation is a one way road to a hellish temper. No one knew that as well as I did when I wandered into the house a month later, drenched in demon gore. Van hadn't told me Enzo was an informant. Neither did he mention the fact that Enzo was one of the greatest figures in the underground society.

I had to threaten to set a pack of demons on him before he would cut down his commission from twenty five to ten percent. I was bouncing around town like a basketball, chasing off pesky demons. It was good, in the sense that I was coining it big time, and that I'd managed to scare them off completely from the farmers. Crops were growing and being harvested, and the economy picked up considerably. And Eva looked happier, the bits I did get to see of her. Which was even less than before. Not because she was still working double shifts, but because I was out making money all the time.

And it was good in the sense that I didn't have to face Dante. Except at the weekly fights at the underground club, and that was still okay because he didn't know I was Ivana.

Everyone seemed to benefit except for me. More food, more wealth, more luxury – things everybody else got to enjoy due to me. I'm not bloating my own turkey. I'm not proud of what I've accomplished. I'm bitter. All those good things, and I'm excluded from throwing myself in there. I had no friends, because I didn't have time for anything but work. School? What school? I hadn't been to school in a fortnight, and I hadn't been reprimanded about it by Dante or Eva because, yes you guessed it, I'm always out working. The lingering aroma of Eva's home cooking would meet me when I dragged myself home in the dead of night. I was always too tired to sit down and eat, and if I was lucky I'd get a couple of hours sleep in before Enzo would be buzzing me with another job.

My existence revolved around demons. I was a breathing machine with a fiery tongue and, as of late, a very short fuse. I didn't have to actually use force to chase off any demons, but my anger got the better of me and I'd be blowing holes in them with a pistol Enzo had given me. The bullets weren't meant for the demons, for the record. They were meant for troublesome clients who didn't want to pay up.

My stomach gave an angry grumble, and I pushed the wave of nausea down when I headed upstairs. It felt kind of strange, walking through the house early afternoon on a weekend. I hadn't been in the house during daylight hours in ages.  
I stuck in my tracks when I saw Dante and Eva poring over a pile of paperwork on the desk in Sparda's old study. The frown of confusion on Eva's face was plastered over Dante's own. He wasn't wearing a shirt – I've started to question whether he actually owned any – but he was wearing a long leather trench coat in a pretty shade of red. I squished the sudden butterfly sensation in my stomach at the sight of him. So what if he was gorgeous? He put my ex-boyfriend in hospital. He didn't deserve admiration.

"I don't understand. Where did all this money come from?" Eva was muttering, puzzled.

"Maybe they misprinted the statement? But that won't be enough then, would it?" Dante said and sighed tiredly. "Should we go in to the bank and see what's going on?"

"I think so."

I continued down the hallway to the bathroom, wrinkling my nose at the acidic smell all over me.

"Cora, is that you?" Eva called when I flung the bathroom door open.

I heard Dante's feet pound across the floor, and shut the bathroom door quickly behind me, heart thudding unpleasantly hard in my chest.

"Cora, are you in there?" Dante hammered on the door, and I stepped away in fright.

"Privacy is not a crime, is it?" I said loudly.

I turned the shower on and jumped beneath the hot water, clothes and all. Even after scrubbing my skin pink, I still felt dirty. And more tired than before. I wrapped one of the terrycloth robes around myself and used one of the smaller hand towels to dry my hair. I pressed my ear up against the door when I was done. Silence. I peeked through the keyhole. Empty hallway. They must have headed out to the bank then.

I emerged from the bathroom, only to be faced with a very gloomy mother and son waiting against the wall for me. Shoot.

"Where have you been?" Eva demanded.

"Around town," I said and frowned. "Why do you look like you're going to kill me?"

"Cora," Eva said, putting her hands on my shoulders firmly. "Where have you been?"

"I've been all over the place," I said, shaking her off and stepping away.

"You haven't been to school in ages."

"Yeah, I know."

"What have you been getting up to?" Eva said, and worry flashed in her blue eyes. "Van said something about you having found a job in the lower parts of town."

"Oh, he did," I said flatly, and looked away.

"Cora, talk to me."

"All that extra cash is you," Dante said.

"So what if it is? You're not complaining, are you?" I said, and tried to keep a hold of myself. "I'm helping. I don't know how else I can help."

"Honey, you can't keep this up. You should have just come to me. Now you're so far behind with your school work, and you're never home, and you're withering away," Eva said.

I folded my arms across my chest as a subconscious means of blocking her words.

"What kind of job requires your services all hours of the day and night?" Dante asked. "What kind of job pays as well as yours does? It sounds dodgy, I don't like it."

I didn't like the way he was looking at me.

"You're not dealing with drugs, are you?" Eva said urgently.

"No. No, I work for this guy – he's got an office in the back of the Love Planet..."

"_What_?" Eva exploded.

I fell silent. What was the point in explaining? They wouldn't believe me anyway.

"The strip joint?" Dante broke through the horrified silence, his voice as sharp and heavy as a sword.

I shrugged, staring down at my feet. Let them think what they want. I couldn't be bothered.

"I'm not going to stop," I said quietly. "You can say what you want. If I don't go to work, the money stops coming in, and everything I've done for the past weeks goes to shit."

Silence.

"I'm going to lie down before I have to head out again," I said, and moved to my room.

I was passed out before my head even properly landed on the pillow. I woke up with the sound of a beeper shrieking in my ear. My eyes felt heavy and burning when I picked it up, and cut it off when I saw Enzo's name flashing at me. I dropped my face into my pillow with a groan and finally forced myself up. I swung my legs over the side of my bed and gave Dante a dazed look. He was stretched out at the foot of my bed, his pose lazy and his eyes piercing.  
I let out a tired breath and grabbed some clothes from my cupboard.

"Do you mind?" I said.

"Not at all." Dante didn't budge.

I stomped to the bathroom, growling furiously. I dressed in a comfortable pair of jeans and a sweater, sucked in a deep breath, and forced my legs to carry me back to my room. Dante was in the exact spot I'd left him. I sank down on my bed, and drew out the pistol from under my mattress to disassemble it for a good clean.

"You're pretty good at that," Dante commented.

"You taught me. Remember?" I said absent-mindedly, and sucked back an irritated sigh when the beeper went off again.

"Sounds like they really want you."

I ignored the scorn in his voice. "Yeah, well. No one better for the job than me."

"I'm coming with you."

"No, you're not," I snapped and finally looked at him.

"Yes I am," Dante said with an unnerving grin. "And if they touch you, I'm going to break every damn bone in their bodies."

"Please," I said in defeat. "It's not what you think, Dante."

"Show me."

"It's better if you don't know."

"I'd like for your boss to explain to me why that is."

"My boss couldn't give a shit whether you knew of his little franchise or not," I snapped. "_I_ don't want you to know what I do."

"Why not? Afraid I won't like it?"

I reassembled the pistol and turned to him with a frustrated glare. "Afraid you might like it too much, actually. I'm not a stripper, Dante." I got up from the bed abruptly and explored under my bed for my sneakers. "I don't have the boobs to be one."

"Then what do you do?"

"I know you," I said and shook my head firmly. "You're not coming with me, and that's final."

"Then I'm not letting you leave this room."

I straightened up and pointed the gun at his chest. "Don't mess with me, Dante. I have to go."

"Shoot," Dante said, eyes darting from the barrel of the gun to meet mine. "You won't keep me from coming after you otherwise."

I weighted the idea in my head for a minute, and lowered the gun quickly when reality snapped its fingers in my head. What the hell was I doing?

"You know, ever since Vergil left it feels like I'm getting his share of the brunt on top of my own from you," I said, sliding the gun into my back pocket.

"Don't bring my brother into this," Dante said dangerously, and I felt a chill at the edge in his voice.

"I've been thinking about him a lot lately," I added. Do I dare tell him what I've done a week ago? The fuming look on his face told me no, but I went on anyway. "I told some demons to go find him and Sparda, y'know. Help them get back from the demon world. They do whatever I tell them. It's like I have a whole army of my own little minions to do my every bidding."

Dante snorted.

"I told them to find them, and to protect them at whatever costs. To do exactly as they say, if they were to order them around. So they can come home," I said and bit down on my lip when tears filled my eyes. "So everything can go back to the way it was."

Dante stared at me in genuine bewilderment. "Did you summon demons?"

"Like the streets aren't already littered with them?" I snapped indignantly.

"I know your mom was into all those dark arts..."

"Don't talk about my mom," I said and fired a shot at him. It missed him by inches, leaving a neat scorched little hole in my bedspread instead. Dante leapt to his feet almost the same instant the bullet fired, and had me backed up against the wall and disarmed in the blink of an eye.

"Oww..."

"What's all this talk about demons doing your bidding, if you're not using some voodoo to control them?"

"What was that noise?" Eva's voice drifted from downstairs.

"I dropped something, don't worry!" Dante shouted and slammed my door shut, still holding me locked in place.

"I don't need to use any voodoo," I choked out. "They just do what I say."

"Bullshit."

"You're hurting me," I complained and sobbed when his grip tightened like steel. "Ow, ow! Let go of me!"

"What did you get yourself into, Cora?" Dante snarled in my face.

"Ow, okay... if you let me go you can come with...ow, just let go."

He pulled his hands away so fast that I almost collapsed to the floor. I rubbed my arms where he'd gripped me, and sent him an accusing glare. "Just for today. Tomorrow, you stay the hell away from me. Got it?"

"Got it."

I snatched the gun off the floor where he'd thrown it, and strolled from the room without another word. I called a brief goodbye to Eva, and then my feet were skimming the sidewalk. Dante kept up easy.

I pushed the pace when my beeper went off again. I didn't need to see who it was. The irritating thing almost screamed his name at me – _ennnzzooo, ennnzzooo_.

"I'm so tired," I mumbled when Love Planet came into view.

"I'll give you a heads up. If I don't like what's going down..."

"Just shut up and pretend you're invisible," I said. I stopped and pulled Dante to a halt next to me. "Really. Don't do _anything_, Dante. We need the money."

I got a firm grip on his wrist and dragged him behind me. The bouncers held the door for me, seizing Dante up with intimidating cold eyes. Halfway through the room, Dante stuck in his tracks and stared at the stage.

"You want to hang around and watch?" I asked, hope flaring up in me. Maybe he'd leave me to do my work in peace.

"Uh..." Dante shook his head, and finally tore his gaze away from the women to look at me blankly. "What?"

"Go chill out," I encouraged.

"Hell no. I'm coming with you," Dante's eyes brimmed with determination.

"It's not every day you come to a strip club," I said.

"Get a move on," Dante gave me a little shove, and I led the way to the back office in defeat.

Enzo was on the phone, and swivelled his chair half toward me when he heard me come in. He signalled at me to wait, and held a paper toward me.

"Yes, yes, I see. Well, that won't do. So what? I don't give a damn. Look, my friend..." Enzo turned his back on us when I took the paper from him.

I scanned the printed list, and turned to Dante. He had that look on his face that I hadn't seen in a while – the hunting look. I pursed my lips and shook my head at him. His eyes darted to me, and fixed right back on Enzo.

"You," I whispered, pointing at him, then at my eyes and finally at the floor. Enzo didn't like people who made him feel threatened, and that look was going to cause mayhem.

Dante stared at me for another stubborn moment before lowering his gaze to the floor. I still wasn't sure whether I could control him too, or whether he just listened to me because he didn't want to make me angry. Probably the latter. Half the things I told him went over his head anyway.

Enzo hung up the phone and I turned to face him. "That Martin Dust owes me over four hundred. You make sure he pays up today, along with today's job fee. And with interest," Enzo pointed his finger at me, and frowned at Dante. "Who's that?"

"My body guard," I said and put the list down on the desk between us. "I'm not your debt collector."

"Hey, my money is your money. It's cheaper and quicker this way. Can't afford to hire someone else to chase up arrears now can I?" Enzo said with a chuckle, and lit a cigarette. "Your friend isn't expecting to get paid, too, is he? I'll need to up the charges."

"No," I said and tapped my finger at the top of the list. "Saradines _again_?"

"Eh," Enzo gave a dismissive wave. "Them nasties like the fish smell for some reason. Keeps swarms of them coming back. What's the boy doing here, Cora? I don't trust outsiders."

"Don't worry about him. He's just tagging along for the ride."

"Not scared of them demons, are you boy?" Enzo nodded at Dante.

Dante responded with a slow, cunning smile. I sighed.

"Demons are scared of him is more like it," I muttered, going over the list again. "What's up with the Campbell Avenue? Is there a portal there or something? You give me that one every three days."

Enzo shrugged in reply. "He does what you do?"

"Oh, fuckit," I snapped, straightening up to glance from Enzo to Dante, who quickly diverted his gaze when I looked at him. "Why don't you buy his biography already? Just ignore him, for fucks sake."

"Nerves wound up a bit tight there, girly?" Enzo said, and I sighed again.

"No. He doesn't do what I do. He kills," I said, and looked at Enzo through narrowed eyes when a contemplative expression filled his face. "And he causes a lot of damage when he does it. Damage equals expenses."

"Yeh," Enzo lost interest in a blink of an eye and looked at me. "We're running out of jobs."

"Doesn't look like it," I said, shaking the list meaningfully.

"Not yet. With the recession passed over and demons being driven from town, people aren't going to be needing the service no more. We'll have to milk the few clients we still got. And then I'm thinking we go abroad."

"Abroad where?" I asked.

"Wherever they need us. You chasing them off doesn't mean they just disappear. They become someone else's problem."

"'kay. Time is money. I'll catch you later," I said, folding the list up and sliding it into my pocket. I pulled Dante by his arm toward the door and paused to send an irritated look at Enzo. "And hey. Don't buzz me while I'm on the job. I can't be everywhere at once."

"You've been chasing demons?" Dante demanded when we stepped outside the club. "_That's_ your job?"

"I told you," I said to his disbelieving smirk. "I can control demons."

"What a load of crap." Dante shook his head. "Seriously, what mojo have you got going on?"

"None. I'm not into the occult, Dante."

"Whatever you say."

Dante didn't believe me until we made our fourth trip through the town via the lesser used back roads to drive the demons back to the countryside. It didn't look as effective without violence, but shouting and barking orders at the herds of demons did the job just as well. I felt like a collie shepherding a flock of sheep to the meadow.

It was only then on that trip, when he stopped his sarcastic remarks and said nothing, that I knew Dante grasped the reality of what I was doing. He didn't say another word to me for the rest of the day. And it was a long day. I stopped by the Love Planet just before ten that evening and leaned back against the wall in the office while Enzo calculated the money and divided it into two piles.

"Should get yourself new shoes. You got the cash," Enzo said when he stopped counting to tidy up my heap of dollar bills.

"And ruin the new ones?" I sniffed and put my hands on my back. "Wish I could buy a new back. All this walking is stuffing me up."

"Walking keeps you fit," Enzo muttered distractedly.

I watched him neatly stack the little tower of money into a plastic money bag, and he pushed it across the desk toward me.  
"Good work today."

"Hmm," I mumbled, snatching the bag up and heading for the door.

"Hey, kid." I stopped and mouthed a silent curse before turning back. "That boy." Enzo nodded at the small window looking out over the club. "Been seeing him around here a lot lately."

"At the club?" I frowned.

"Won't say he's a regular, but he comes here often. Hangs around for a few minutes, then goes. Jeff at the front said he comes from the countryside every day."

"Nah, you got the wrong guy. Dante's never been here before. I could tell from his face when we came in earlier," I said.

"I'm telling you. That's the kid." Enzo shook his head. "I don't like him. He scares my patrons and never uses the girls. Always has a few drinks at the bar, never pays, and heads off."

"You just let him leave?" I said, glancing at Dante where he was staring up at a girl doing a particularly flexible dance for him. I wrinkled my nose and looked at Enzo, puzzled.

"Human flesh ain't nothing to a sword. Didn't you hear he almost sliced up Trevor's arm the other day?"

But Rebellion was locked away...

"Okay," I said, and felt my heart beat up my throat. "Okay, you know what? When he stops by again, buzz me. I'll come sort him out."

"You two together?"

"See you soon," I ignored his question and hurried from the office.

Dante resisted leaving at first, and I let rip a string of profanities that made everyone in the club stare. When I left, Dante followed.  
We got home to find Eva waiting for us with our plates loaded with steamy food. We'd just settled down to eat when my beeper went off. This time, for once, I was elated to hear it shrieking at me.

"Oh, no, c'mon, Cora. You've been at it all day," Dante said, looking as tired as I felt.

"I gotta go," I said, scrambling to my feet. "I'll see you guys later. Sorry!"

My legs were aching and my head thrumming with a constant headache from exhaustion, but I practically ran all the way to the Love Planet. I nodded at the bouncers outside, and stepped inside, my eyes searching the bar feverishly as I uncertainly walked over. A few people. A chubby guy with glasses. An old guy with bad skin. Two younger men. I stepped around the corner, and felt every nerve in my body set on fire.

For a full moment I could do nothing but stare, blink, stare, blink, stare some more. I edged over toward the figure, slightly aside from the others, and sank down in the stool beside him. The coat he wore was a simply beautiful brilliant blue, and his silvery haired head was bent over a glass.  
His body language sent off unmistakable cold vibes. He didn't want company. I licked my lips and carefully put my hand on his shoulder.

"Vergil."


	12. The Dark Slayer

The corner of his lip twitched and he brought the glass up to take a swig of the ruby red liquid. He put his drink down carefully, in the precise spot it had been before, and dropped his fist on the counter beside it. The angry breath he let out made me quickly withdraw my hand from his shoulder. Clearly, he wasn't happy to see me.

"I thought you were dead," I said, and dropped my voice to a whisper, glancing at the other customers wearily. "So did Eva. When did you come back from the demon world?"

Vergil straightened up and rolled his shoulders, scanning the club with grimly narrowed eyes.

"Why haven't you come home?" I persisted. "Do you know how happy Eva will be when she sees you? And Dante would be just as happy. He's missed you a lot."

At the last, Vergil finally looked at me. There was something savagely callous behind his gaze, something that I don't recall ever seeing so obvious and extreme. I instinctively cringed away from him, but I wasn't about to let him scare me off.

"What are you doing in the club any way?" I asked. "You put the people here on edge."

A cruel smile curled his lips at that. He tilted his head to the side and scrutinized me from head to toe. I fidgeted when his gaze seemed to stick on my arms.  
"Does Dante know where you are?"

His voice had broken into a deeper baritone than Dante's, and the refined drawl in his speech was hypnotic. Like a different kind of music, a very pleasant sound. It left me staring at him like an idiot before his words registered in my head, and then every muscle in my body was screaming at me to run like hell.

"Uh... well, yeah, of course he does," I stammered, and jolted off my stool when he reached for me.

"Everything okay here?" one of the indoor bouncers appeared to melt out of the shadows, eyeing Vergil with dislike.

"I was just about to walk Cora home," Vergil said, and the little smile on his lips snapped off. "Right?"

My ears were ringing. The bouncer couldn't see the discreet motion, but I glimpsed Vergil's hand on the sheath of his sword. His thumb had already loosened Yamato from its hold, and the hilt was gleaming to be seized. One full-armed swing and he'd split everyone around us in half without effort. I knew it, and he knew I knew it from the smirking light in his eyes.

Still, I hesitated before finally muttering, 'right'.  
His hand moved and took hold of mine. The only reason I didn't swat it away was because it was no longer hovering over Yamato. I didn't need prompting to keep up when he led the way from the club. I wanted to run and put as much distance between us as the world would allow, but something inside of me was shrieking in sheer terror at the idea of resisting him.  
Because he'd kill me. It was that simple, and it was petrifying.

When we stepped into the quiet night the cold dragged its icy fingers past my face and through my hair almost mockingly. The unseen hands of the midnight breeze embraced me with the clear thought in my head that I probably wasn't going to make it back home. I'd never felt fear this severe before. It was insane, because Vergil wasn't even doing anything to scare me. His fingers were entwined with mine, his grip light and airy – intimate but distant at the same time.

He was steering me away from civilisation toward the open countryside and all the evil it housed in its shadow. Pull away and run. I could run fast. I could scream for help, while I was still close enough to people who would hear and come to my aid. I could try. But it was far easier to think it than actually put it into action.

I was tired, and even if I did run at my optimum speed, Vergil was by far quicker than I. Getting other people involved was out of the question, knowing what he was capable of. Their blood would be on my hands, because no one was efficient enough to fight him off. Not even I was good enough, and he was the one who trained me.

I really wish Dante were here.

Maybe he'd followed me after all. Maybe he was on his way right now. Maybe he'd catch us before we even reach the end of the street. Too many maybes. The reality was that my saviour was back in the safety of home, probably devouring his second plate of food, and enraptured with the late night T.V. shows not meant for youthful eyes.

Don't cry, don't cry. I swallowed down the lump in my throat and lifted my chin, drawing in deep steady breaths to try still the tremor of fear racing through my veins.

It's true when they say you're never more alive than when you're faced with death. Adrenaline rushing, heart pumping, your mind unnaturally clear and focused. Your senses at their peak; the wind tickling through the fine hairs on your arms when you walk, the smell of dead leaves scattered in the gutters, the sound of people laughing and clinking glasses merrily behind closed doors, your eyes taking in irrelevant details with insane precision.

A different kind of high. This was the feeling Dante was talking about when he tried to explain to me exactly why he loved kicking demon ass all over the place. It's not something you could describe; it had to be felt.

"Where are we going?" I asked curtly. The words were choked. I'd never been good at hiding my emotions.

"Somewhere he won't find us." The brusque reply came.

I blinked, watched my feet cross the tarry road, and drew an involuntary sharp breath when I realized who he was talking about. I spun on my heel, hope flaring up like a fire obliterating my common sense. I opened my mouth to scream for him, and let out a strangled cry instead when the bones in my hand shattered. Pain blinded me while I was roughly yanked into the darkness of a backstreet, and then I collapsed to my knees, holding my hand and crying.

"Don't be a fool. I don't want to hurt you," Vergil chided and crouched down in front of me. "I want your help."

"You just broke my hand, you dick," I sobbed through gritted teeth. "I'm not..."

"Listen," Vergil said. "Before you shoot your mouth off. Sparda is dead. His sword holds his powers, and that sword is in the demon world. I need to get it before anyone else does. Something that powerful cannot be left out in the dark like that."

My hand was tingling and burning like ice. It was nearly maddening, but somehow his words cut through the wave of pain encompassing me.

"So go get it," I said and winced when he picked up my broken hand.

I stared at it in horror. The skin was deteriorating into a bruised dark purple, turning dry and flaky.

Vergil inspected my hand closely. His voice dripped venom when he spoke. "That's just it. I can't. There are seven seals that need to be broken if I'm to enter the demon world."

"What do you want from me?" I said.

"I want you to draft up an army of demons, and unleash them on this town," he said.

"_What_?"

"It's the only way I'll convince Dante to join me. I need him to break the seals."

"I'm not doing that," I said weakly. "I can't. What makes you think I can control demons any way?"

Vergil sighed impatiently, and I let out a startled shriek when he whipped Yamato out. He moved faster than my eyes were able to comprehend. The blade came down, a sharp sweet clink as metal hit tar, and I watched my injured hand drop to the ground.  
It twitched there for another few seconds and went still. Shockingly, that didn't hurt. There was a clean cut stump at the end of my arm, and something was protruding from it. I stared in a mix of revulsion and denial as bone and muscle and flesh sprouted from it, spiralling together to shape a new human hand.

"Foolish, girl. You know the truth. You've got demon abilities," Vergil was saying.

I spread my new fingers and turned my hand over to study it closely.

"I've heard of you. Everyone who is a demon knows about you, Cora. And that's not a good thing," Vergil continued, and I stared at him. "Demons don't like to be controlled. It makes them wild and ruthless."

"I'm not going to do what you want. People will get hurt..."

"People will get worse if you don't," Vergil said.

"I don't trust you," I finally said. Pure madness to say something like that in the face of a pissed off devil. "I think I'd like Sparda's sword to stay wherever it is. He had to have put it there for a reason."

"Don't play with me, Cora," Vergil said quietly.

Every nerve in my body turned to ice.

He added with an edge to his words, "Either you do as I say, or I kill you."

I couldn't help it. I laughed. "And here I was thinking I had no choice in the matter."

Vergil wore a mask of indulgence until my hysteric little fit passed.

"Disobey me, Cora, and I will make good on my word. If you still haven't picked up on the reaction your presence has on my brother, you're a lot dumber than I thought. Tell him, and I'll kill you in ways your pathetic human mind could never conjure up. Tell Eva, and I will kill you both. " Vergil thrust his face in mine.

"How dare you..." I said.

"And I will break him, if you disobey me. I'll make him watch you suffer."

"You're sick," I said.

"Test me. Go on, Cora. Test me." The challenge was laid out on the table, clear in his shadowed eyes.

I backed down and swallowed hard.  
"Dante will know it's me. He knows I can control them. He'll be onto you."

"No, he'll be onto you," Vergil said.

I pursed my lips, my mind streaking in a million different directions to find a way out of this. It found none.

"I'll see you around," Vergil said and smiled when the fight in me succumbed to defeat.

I sat against the wall, watching him through blurry tears as he walked toward the main road and disappeared into the night.


	13. Love 'n Pancakes

The familiar shriek of my beeper going off ripped me out of a fretful slumber. Before I could even twitch my muscles into movement to shut off the horrendous noise, the shrieking ceased with a sharp bang. My eyes snapped open and I found myself staring at something creamy and leathery.

"Pancakes. Get up!"

What the hell? My head felt thick, and for a perplexed moment I wondered if I was suffering from a hangover. I tried to recall where I'd been and what I'd been doing before I passed out, and stiffened at the memory of frosty blue eyes. I lifted my head with effort, scanning my surroundings in disoriented alarm. TV. Black furry carpet. Ugh. Dante. And my beeper smashed to a zillion little electronic pieces on the coffee table next to him.

"You awake yet?" Dante nudged me, and I batted away his foot.

I pushed myself up on the couch and listlessly ran my hand through my hair. It was all ridges and waves, the way it dried when I didn't brush it after a shower. I drew a deep, tired breath and stretched.

"What time is it?"

"Time for pancakes!"

"Are you on a sugar rush?" I asked.

By the dilated pupils of his cool eyes, and the way his legs were restlessly bouncing up and down on the carpet, I knew he'd gotten into the ice cream again.

"C'mon." Dante seized hold of my arm and propelled me off the couch with force.

I stumbled to catch myself, and then he was dragging me toward the stairs. His entire face was lit up. Either he had some naughty scheme brewing, or he'd won the lottery. This cheerful attitude wasn't the norm for his sugar rushes.

"I've been waiting all day for you to wake up," Dante towed me behind him eagerly. "You were out cold."

"How did I get home?" I asked, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

His happiness was catchy, and I couldn't deny the fact that it warmed my heart to see him in this ecstatic state. His smile hadn't reached his eyes in a long time, and right now there were blue flames dancing in their depths. The Dante in front of me reminded me of the carefree, innocent kid I'd first met.

"I found you passed out in a backstreet last night," Dante said, the light in his eyes dulling for a split moment at the memory before brightening again. "You'll never guess what the cat dragged in this morning."

I could guess. I kicked my heels into the floor, but Dante didn't seem to notice and continued dragging me effortlessly. I opened my mouth to protest, and then I was hurdled into Sparda's study beside him.

Eva had her arms draped around Dante's clone and was mumbling in an elated, trembling voice. He, in turn, held her lightly and had his eyes closed, forehead resting on her shoulder.  
I watched them for a few minutes; the need to confront him with the safety of Dante right beside me, and the terror of his promise to brutally slaughter us if I dared do so, pounced into a bloody fight inside my head.

Vergil opened his eyes and noticed us standing side by side in the doorway. His gaze flashed at me coldly, and the unspoken warning carried clearly.  
Blackmail was a bitch.

I fumbled for Dante's hand next to me, for lack of having anything else safe-worthy to latch onto.

"Oh. This is why you're so happy?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"Isn't it great? Here we were thinking ol' Verge was dead," Dante, surprisingly, shook my hand off and went to perch on the edge of the desk when Eva finally disengaged her arms from Vergil.

Her face was practically glowing. "We've missed you so much, my son," Eva turned teary blue eyes on her eldest. "There was never one day that I didn't think about you, not one day."

"Oh, sheesh, mom, don't start crying again," Dante said in dismay. "Cora, do something."

"I never should have left," Vergil said, rubbing his hand soothingly in a small circle on Eva's back. "I apologise for the discomfort my absence has caused."

"I apologise for the discomfort my absence has caused," I copied him spitefully, and lifted my chin challengingly when he looked at me sharply.

He could threaten and blackmail me all he wanted, but I wasn't about to let him enjoy having the upper hand.

"What's your case?" Dante asked with a chuckle. Clearly, he was in too good a mood to pick up on the negative vibes soaring through the room between me and Vergil.

"I thought you said something about pancakes," I said, tearing my gaze from Vergil's to look at Dante.

"Yeah, we're heading out to go grab somewhere," Dante lifted off the desk. At the same time, I stepped away.

"I can't. I got work to do."

"You're not going back there," Dante's voice, for a change, was serious. "We talked about it this morning, and we can work something else out."

"We?" I stared at him, confused. "You were talking to me while I was sleeping?"

"Us three," Dante's brow furrowed and he gestured brusquely at his mother and brother . "With Vergil back, we can work something else out because he doesn't have responsibilities like you and I do."

"You've got responsibilities?" I looked from one twin to the other.

I'd forgotten just how easily it could mess up your eyes, not being used to the sight of them together. Given, Vergil's hair was smoothed back to expose every regal feature on his face, whereas Dante looked like he never bothered with his own silver mop, but it was still uncanny looking at two identical faces.

"School," Dante prompted.

"Oh. That," I said, and lowered my gaze to the floor. "So what's _he_ going to do then, unless he's discovered a money tree that never dies."

"That is none of your concern," Vergil said.

"Oh you bet it is," I said, shooting him an angry look.

"You've gotten yourself into enough trouble as it is," Vergil said carefully.

That sealed the deal. The looks on Dante and Eva's faces told me they were in agreement with Vergil. I didn't dare argue with them. Blood was thicker than water - they would support Vergil before and above me. Besides. Vergil was friggin' scary. I didn't want to get in any kind of fight with him.

"You didn't think I'd let you go back out there after I found you half frozen in some alley, did you?" Dante added incredulously.

"At least let me go tell my boss I quit."

"That's done."

I felt my jaw smash into the ground. The gleefully satisfied look on Dante's face was beyond disturbing. "What did you _do_?"

"I just taught that old man a lesson about treating his employees fairly, is all," Dante said with a childish grimace. "He shouldn't have left you out there. He should have sent someone to go look for you."

"Shit. Oh, _shit_," I breathed, and spun around to run from the room.

Vergil stepped in my way so fast, I had to twist myself at the last second to avoid colliding with him. I careened into the wall instead, startled. He had to have teleporting skills or something. Normal people couldn't move that fast.

"You have no idea who he is! Dante, he can get people to come after us," I said panicky.

"He won't," Dante smirked confidently, and then he slumped an arm around my shoulders. "Let's go get some pancakes, shall we?"

I didn't like the look Vergil was giving me. I shrugged out from under Dante's arm and stepped away wearily. "I don't want to go. I'm not hungry."

"But it's to celebrate Vergil's homecoming," Dante almost wailed.

"Yeah. I'm not going," I said firmly.

"Everything all right, sweetie? You look a bit pale," Eva said, placing a small warm hand across my forehead.

"Yeah. Actually, I'm feeling a bit off," I lied, and screamed inwardly when Vergil arched a mocking eyebrow at me. "I think I'll stay home. You guys go ahead."

"But you have to come," Dante insisted. "You're part of this family, too."

"I'd really rather not," I said.

"I'd really rather you do," Dante retorted unhappily.

"Oh, leave her, Dante. Come, let's go," Eva said, and steered the boys from the room.

Dante resisted in the doorway, and stood his ground. "Go ahead. I'll catch up in a sec."

I clutched my hands together nervously when he turned to face me. There was a glimmer of turmoil on his face, like he didn't know whether to be angry or worried at me.

"What is with you?" he demanded.

"I'm not feeling well," I lied again.

"I don't care how you're feeling. Look, if it's that whole thing about not being seen with me in public again..."

"It's nothing like that."

"Whatever it is, screw it. I want you to come with us. It will feel wrong without you there."

"Maybe next time, Dante," I said quietly. It was horrible, having him look at me like that, and speak to me in barely restrained impatience. In the past I would laugh at him for trying to act like the superior, mature one, but now his words inflicted very real and very confusing jabs in my chest.

"Cora. Just this once. Do it for me?"

I bit down on my lip and shook my head, turning to stare at the books in the shelf beside me instead. When he didn't speak up again or move away, I looked at him. He was livid. There was strain in his shoulders, as if he was holding back from smashing something, and his expression was as cold and hard as rock.

"Please don't make me," I said weakly.

"I understand the whole playing hard to get game, but I'm getting real fed up with your crap."

"What?" I asked. It felt like he'd just winded me. "Dante, this isn't..."

"What? You kissing me and then trying to avoid facing me with this bogus 'work' excuse?" Dante bristled. "I know you feel about me the way I feel about you. But this is family stuff, and you're pushing the wrong buttons here. Don't make me hate you, Cora."

"Dante, this has nothing to do with you and me," I burst out.

"I waited all day for this. So you can come with us," Dante shot back.

"Well what the hell is wrong with you? I'm _not_ family, I'm a damn third wheel. Or... you know what I mean!"

"So that's how you really feel?"

"Dante!" Eva's voice wafted faintly from downstairs. "Don't make me come up there!"

"Yes, that's how I really feel!" I said and tried to tone my voice down. "I don't have a family, and it doesn't matter how much I want to be part of yours, I'm just not. I don't have anybody, get it?"

Dante pursed his lips hard and glared down at the floor. "You have me."

My resistance melted, and I hugged my arms to my chest awkwardly. The words 'fine, you win' were about to roll from my lips, when Dante let out a sigh that made his shoulders heave, and he pushed his hair back from his forehead. A gesture of pure frustration, but it was like I was facing Vergil.

"Last chance. Coming?" He asked coldly.

"No."

He marched from the room without another word, and I was left trying to keep my shaking innards from upsetting my empty stomach. I paced the house once they were gone, trying to brainstorm a solution out of the fix I was in, and suppressing the argument with Dante. I thought about going to check on Enzo once, but dismissed the idea. He'd probably have his men shackle me and torture me as a means of revenge. Or worse. I didn't want to know what Enzo was capable of.

Eva and the boys were gone for most of the day. During my absent minded fidgeting through random items in the house, I discovered Dante's hiding place for the key to his room. The weather had taken a turn for the worse, and I could see the lightning dancing through the open window. I pressed myself hard against the headboard of the bed every time the thunder roared in unstable fury, and clutched the pillow tightly to my chest, stuffing my face into it every time lightning struck.

I'm a coward when it came to thunder storms. Lightning scared the shit out of me. When I was smaller and wanted to set up the game station for me and Dante and Jason to play, I had to pull out the plug of a hair dryer stuck into a multiple adaptor, which had been loaded with two more plugs for the T.V and a digital alarm clock. I accidentally touched the element with my fingertip, and got a shock that had me gasping and physically staggering away from it.

I remember it felt like my heart had stopped for a second, and my hand had been trembling in aftershocks for a good minute. Dante and Jason had found it pretty fascinating, since I had no feeling in my hand while the electricity coursed through it. I'd found it petrifying. Spark plugs and lightning weren't exactly the same thing, but anything that can electrocute you has become my arch enemy.

I was paranoid that I was going to get hit, which is why I didn't dare go over to close the open window. Even if the wind was chilling the room beyond freezer point, and even if the pouring rain was pelting into the room, soaking the window sill and carpet. It was just water, after all.

It was well past dusk when I finally heard the resounding click of the front door and muffled voices filled the house. I didn't budge an inch when I heard footsteps up and down the hallway.

"No, she's not in her room," I heard Vergil call from the top of the stairs.

"Argh, shit!" Dante's angry response, followed by a loud smack, and then a groan from Dante.

"Watch it, mister," Eva chided sternly. "We'll call the authorities and have them look for her."

"I'll go find her," Dante said.

"You'll do no such thing. It's raining cats and dogs out there. I don't want you to catch a cold."

"Why does she always cause drama?" Dante complained. "I knew I should have just forced her to come with us."

"That's how I remember her," Vergil remarked. "She's a troublemaker."

For you, you bet your ass I'm going to be troublesome, I thought, and squished my face deeper into the pillow when another streak of lightning cracked right outside the house.

"I'm going to eat her share of pancakes I brought home. Just for spite," Dante said, and Eva laughed lightly.

"I'll go make the call and put the kettle on. She'll be soaked and cold when she gets home," Eva's voice drifted off.

"Think mom will notice if I slipped out?" Dante muttered right outside the door.

"She'll be watching the front door like a hawk. You'll have to go through the window," Vergil said.

"Hmpf."

"Why do you have to chase after her, Dante? Just leave her."

"She's scared of lightning. I can't just leave her."

"Did you know she's turned?" I felt a chill at his words.

"Who?" Dante asked.

"Your girl," Vergil said patiently. "She's controlling demons."

"Nah, Cora? I'm still convinced she's using some sort of spell."

"We didn't get all the venom out, Dante."

"What venom?"

"You don't remember? The scratches on her arms," Vergil said helpfully.

"That? Nah. Can't be that. I would have noticed sooner. She hasn't displayed any of the symptoms of turning demon. You know, the aggression, the memory loss, the blood thirst." I had to strain to make out Dante's words clearly. He was doing the mumble thing again, which meant he knew he was losing the battle.

"She _controls_ demons, brother. She's not human anymore."

"Whatever. Look, I'm going to take a shower and get ready to go look for her. You coming with me?"

"I'll pass. Where's your gear?"

"Dunno. Mom's got it."

"Still?" Vergil said in disdain. "Have you tried to get it back at all?"

"You mean have I begged her every single day to give it back? Hell yeah. She's not caving in."

"Hmm."

Footsteps. A door closing. The geyser groaning and thumping in the ceiling when the shower turned on. I felt like crying into the pillow. Me? A demon? I remember my mom referring to me as a little devil when I was a kid, because I was so naughty all the time. Now the memory of that just rotted and soured in my heart.

I stiffened when another crack of lightning rocketed through the house right outside. I didn't hear the shower turn off, but I heard when Dante fished through the loose change in the vase across his room.

"Damn little shit," Dante clearly muttered when he couldn't find his key. The doorknob twisted and the door swung inward. I could barely make out his hand feeling the door. "Clever little sneak, what were you doing in my room?" Dante said with a sigh when his fingers found the key there, and he closed the door behind him. I got the impression he was referring the question to me, in a rhetorical sense. He gave no hint that he knew I was on his bed in the dark.

I watched him stroll over to his window and slide it shut firmly, wiping the pool of water off the sill with his fingers. Lightning illuminated the room for a brief second, revealing him in nothing but an oversized fluffy towel tied loosely around his waist. He let out a tired breath and I hid my face in the pillow when he started pulling clothing items out of his drawers, glancing at each before dropping it on the floor carelessly. I didn't look up until I felt the mattress slouch to the side as his weight sank down onto it – right onto one of my feet. I yanked my foot out from under him, and we stared at each other in the dark.

He leaned over slowly. Click. Light flooded the room from his bedside lamp. I blinked against the sudden brightness, and felt my cheeks set on fire at the look on his face.

"Now who's the perve?" Dante said.

I shoved my face into the pillow and shook my head. Embarrassed? I felt like opening that portal to the demon world and sinking away into hell right then and there.

Dante sighed quietly. There was the sound of something sliding."You're killing my pillow."

"I don't care," I mumbled into it.

"Wanna watch the Grand Prix with me?"

"You're not mad I'm in your room?" I asked, peeking at him cautiously.

"I'm just happy I don't have to turn the town upside down looking for you. Again," Dante said and flopped down beside me. "Scoot your big bum over."

"I'm sorry about earlier," I said when he peered at his remote and pushed a few buttons. The thirty one inch greyscale T.V. flicked on across the room from us. "I didn't mean to upset you so much. I just felt awkward going with you."

"Hmm," Dante sat up, glaring at the remote and jabbing at a button repeatedly. The screen displayed silent static back at his efforts.

"Please don't hate me."

"Cora, I could never hate you," Dante said distractedly, and looked relieved when the picture kicked in. He stretched out on the bed beside me, propping one arm beneath his head and patting my hand with the other. "I was angry. You know I don't mean half the things I say when I'm mad."

"Yes, you do. You mean every word," I said quietly.

"Well, not this time," Dante said.

We stared at the screen for a few minutes. Predictably, Schumacher overtook all the desperate racers.

"I'm really sorry," I said again.

Dante pushed himself into a sitting position. Unceremoniously and very casually, he leaned in and kissed me. It beat the first kiss. Maybe because I wasn't in a strangle hold. It was longer, too – a chaste, shivery, delightful kiss that made my entire body melt. I would have complained if I wasn't so breathless when he pulled away. I would have pulled him in for another one, but I just didn't have that cheekiness in me.

His eyes were a soft, pretty blue, locked onto mine. "I love you." He said, and sighed. "Now shut up and let me watch the grand prix, will you?"

He flopped back down beside me. I blinked at him for a second, bewildered. What a way to kill the moment. I hit him, bringing my fist down lightly into his gut.

"I love you, too, idiot," I shot back when he cringed into a ball and tensed his stomach, holding back a laughing choke in his throat. My cheeks were burning again, and I wanted to flee the room, but he'd gotten hold of my fist and was working my fingers lose.

"I know," He said indifferently.

It felt like my entire body was blushing when he finally uncurled my fingers and pressed my palm flat on his stomach. He, in comparison, looked very comfortable and apathetic to the gesture. I was too aware of him and try as I might, I just couldn't concentrate on the little buzzing cars on T.V. It just felt too weird. I wanted to run away from him.

I didn't know whether Dante being oblivious to my reaction helped the matter or not. When Eva peeked her head into the room a while later, I seized the chance to make my escape.

"You're home?" Eva asked, startled. "When did you get home?"

"I've been home all day," I said and cringed when her gaze focussed on my hand.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Dante, you could have come told me. Now all those poor men are out there hunting for a ghost!" Eva chided.

"Forgot. Sorry," Dante said.

"Cora, have you had anything to eat? We brought you some pancakes from this afternoon."

"Yes, please," I said, and bolted off the bed.

"Dante, get some proper clothes on. It's cold tonight," Eva said behind me as I rushed downstairs.

"Bring me back some too!" Dante shouted after me.

"You wish!" It was a weird combination of relief and regret that followed me. Relief to be out of that self-conscious situation that made me feel insecure and weird; regret because my hand was tingling and cold now that Dante was no longer holding onto it.

I didn't realize I was skipping until I stepped into the kitchen and came to a crash halt against the counter when Vergil entered through the back door. The silence that followed while we looked at one another throbbed with unkind vibes. I didn't budge when he came and stood directly across the counter from me.

"Having fun?" His voice was almost colder than his eyes.

"Until you showed up."

"My father spent his life slaying demons. It is inevitable that we will follow the same path. It is all we know," Vergil said slowly.

He pulled Yamato from his girdle and placed it on the counter between us, still safely housed in its sheath. "So?" I said nervously.

"So. You."

"You're more devil than I am," I said.

"My brother is slow on the draw, but I will make him realize the threat you hold."

"What _threat_?" I snapped, and gripped the counter when Vergil leaned across and closer to me.

"Demons swarming the town and attacking pitiful humans. On your command," Vergil said, slowly dragging his fingertips along the long sheath like someone dotingly stroking a beloved pet.

"I thought you wanted that to convince him he has to help you open the seals."

"Yes, well, it will aid in my endeavours to persuade his cooperation. Once he sees the havoc caused by free roaming demons, he will assist me willingly. Under the false pretence that it is due to our father's sword that this... adverse circumstance has befallen our little haven." Vergil said. His fingers stopped on the hilt of Yamato, and his eyes snapped toward me. "Once I have Sparda's sword in my possession, he will realize that it is you who is behind the attacks."

"Dante won't hurt me," I said with conviction.

"Dante is foolish. Love blinds him, and love is weakness. He will discover that for himself when the time comes. But the truth will out, and he will come after you, guns blazing," Vergil said and flashed a cruel, confident smile that shattered my defence.

I opened my mouth, but my vocal chords were strained and locked, and my voice came out half a whisper. "Why are you doing this?"

Vergil bit off each word distinctly. "Because I can."

I saw Dante slinking down the hallway toward us, and his gaze darted between us cautiously.

"Am I interrupting something?" He asked warily.

"Of course not," Vergil said, his voice still holding that edge to it, but his expression relaxed. "Cora and I were just catching up."

"Oh," Dante said, and yanked open the microwave. "Want some maple syrup on yours, Cora?"

"I'm not hungry," I said, and my voice trembled. "I'm going to bed."

"Now hold on just a minute..."

I didn't hear the rest. I was already half down the hallway. That night I stayed up until long past midnight, Vergil's words repeating themselves mercilessly in my mind. I was trapped in a nightmare, and I couldn't wake up.


	14. Envy

**~...~**

"Everything's just gone crazy. I'm still waiting for Sparda to, I don't know, climb out of the ground wearing a pink tutu or something," I said, paging through the collection of Marvel comics stacked in careful piles around me.

"If it sets your mind at ease, that's highly unlikely," Roman muttered. "You're overreacting about this, Cora."

I sighed and looked up from the drawn scene of Spiderman kicking Dr. Oc's butt. Roman's tree house seemed to be shrinking in size as we grew up. The walls were plastered with girls in bikinis and other revealing attire. The remnants of our childhood was every here and there – the sketched map of all the houses where old bullies used to live was still tacked to the wall, in between two centrefolds. There were cobwebs in the corners of the square space, and heaps of magazines littered the floor.

We were both lying on our stomachs side by side. I was the only girl allowed up there, only because I never said anything about the state of it. Lorry complained once about the suggestive poses on some of the posters, and it got her banned from the tree house. I never really noticed. It looked almost as bad as Dante's room – evidently I'd become immune to the 'gasp and stare in shock' response it evoked from other girls.

"He's a jerk. He's playing Dante like the fiddle," I said.

"Maybe you're jealous. You and his brother were pretty good friends before he took off, right? And while he was gone you and Dante hit it off. Maybe you're intimidated that having them reunited will stuff things up for you?"

"Don't be stupid. I'm not jealous," I said. "Guess what he did yesterday."

"Tell me."

"He gave Rebellion and the twins to him," I said, and elaborated when Roman sent me a confused glance. "Ebony and Ivory. His sword and his guns."

"Right," Roman said, and returned to ogling at the motorbike magazine spread out in front of him. "That's bad?"

"He achieved the impossible and convinced Eva to give them back," I said. "How am I going to compete with _that_?"

"You're Dante's girl, right? That ought to count for something."

"I'm not officially _his_ girl," I said. "And any way, you didn't see his face. He was so happy he almost went bananas. When it comes down to choosing, boy's toys reign supreme over any girl."

"Not necessarily."

"Yeah? If I was trapped in a house caught on fire, which would you go for first? Me, or your guitar?" I asked, nodding my head toward the black and silver electric guitar mounted on its own little stand next to us.

Roman's grey eyes flicked back and forth for a moment. "Is that a trick question?"

"See my point?" I said. "His weapons are his pride. You just don't go around screwing with that unless you have a death wish. I can't beat that," I said, and added sulkily, " And now Vergil has him wrapped around his finger."

"Cor, spare yourself the hassle of trying to win him over. It's more than just materialistic things, y'know. They're brothers. Nah, scratch that – they're _twins_. Nothing you say or do is going to break that bond," Roman said.

"I know. I'm not trying to break anything," I said defiantly. "It's just that Vergil is doing these things to persuade Dante to join him."

"Join him to do what?"

"Family business," I said and dropped my head on the comic with a thud when Roman groaned in annoyance. "The moral of the story is, Vergil is going to use Dante, and then probably ditch him once he's gotten what he wanted. He's not being a good brother for the sake of being a good brother."

"Don't be so quick to judge. You don't know for sure he's got bad intentions, do you?" Roman said reasonably.

I thought about Vergil first breaking, and then chopping off my hand in a cold alley. What sane person would do such a thing, and threaten to harm his own flesh and blood, if they didn't have bad intentions?

"If it bugs you so much, why don't you just tell Dante?" Roman said when he noted my expression.

"Are you kidding? Vergil will kill me."

"Well, Vergil doesn't have to know Dante knows."

"It's too risky."

"I don't know what to say," Roman said, exasperated.

"I want Dante on _my_ side. So if anything does happen, he'll know I wasn't the bad one."

Roman sighed. "Well. I've been looking at giving my guitar a good home recently."

"What?" I frowned at him, at his guitar, and back. "Why? It took you a year to save up for that."

"I'm getting a new one next week. You can have it," Roman shrugged and gave me a bashful grin. "It might help you out a little, it might not. It depends. I don't know what Dante is into, but if he doesn't like it you can keep it."

"Roman," I said, gaping at him and then staring at the guitar in awe. I knew how holy he's always been over it. "You are the best guy ever."

"Don't mention it. Really, don't. Van will be pissed if he finds out I gave it to you," Roman said. "But I'd rather have it serve a good cause with you, than give it to Van and see it in one of the pawn shops before the end of the month."

We exchanged smiles, and returned to our reading matter. My eye kept wandering to the guitar, though. What would Dante do if I gave it to him? I didn't think presenting him with something like that would have much effect – not any time soon, I mean. He was still on a high from getting his weapons back. My efforts would go unnoticed and unappreciated.

"You staying over?" Roman asked when the sun began to descend beyond the city towers and cast ominous shadows across town.

"No. Eva said she wanted to talk to me when I got home from school. I'm just playing for time. She'll be mad if I don't come home tonight, and she'll send Dante to fetch me," I said, and reached for a special manga edition of _Cobra_.

"Shouldn't you get going before it gets too dark then?" Roman frowned. "With all the demons running amok, it will be pretty stupid to go out at night."

"Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself," I said dismissively.

"You're not invincible, Cora," Roman said.

"I know," I said, thinking about how my hand had regenerated itself within minutes. I pouted at the look he was giving me. "Come on, Roman. I've got wheels now. Home is just a five minute ride from here."

"A lot can happen in five minutes," Roman said warningly. "Get going, or I'm calling Eva."

"Oh, spoil sport," I snapped, and pushed myself off the floor. I snatched up my slick red helmet and yanked it over my head, smacking and wriggling it until it sat comfortably.

Roman watched me put the guitar in its casing, and I fixed it securely to my back. "Catch you tomorrow!"

"Yeah. Hey, drive safe!" Roman said when I grabbed hold of the thick rope and abseiled down the trunk of the tree.

"Whatever," I called back up, and quietly rounded the house.

My red Kawasaki Ninja looked lonely in the dawning dusk. It took me two tries to get my leg swung over it, because I'm petite – or an oversized midget as Dante put it – and the motorbike was enormous. I was getting better at getting onto it lately, though. I was on tiptoes trying to steady the beast under me when I turned it on and revved it a couple of times.

It didn't matter that I got laughed at by my friends for looking ridiculous, and I didn't care for the discomfort it caused to get onto it in the first place, because say what they want, my bike performed excellently. I could outride demons. Easy.

I pulled onto the street and steered homeward. I kept my eye out for demons, and flew past them in a flurry of red and black. In reality, it was a fifteen minute drive to the Sparda residence.

Once I got onto the straight stretch of road that led from the city to the forbidden countryside, I started to open full throttle to get home in a couple of minutes. The length of road was deserted of any other traffic to keep out for, so I could do this safely.

Or so I thought. I was working my speed up to a hundred and eighty miles when something huge rolled across the road in the blackness. It couldn't be tumbleweed. Tumbleweeds weren't that big.  
Two pairs of glowing red eyes glared back at me from the mass, and I had to swerve sharply to avoid the tentacles it extended toward me. I was going too fast, and the bike was leaning too low to the road.

The bike tipped onto its side, and trapped my leg between metal and tar. I skid across the ground for several feet before the momentum of the crash flipped the bike one way, and sent me in a painful summersault off the road. I nearly blacked out from the pain. The world became sluggish around me when I finally came to a halt.

It _hurt_. Once the dazed realization that I was still alive and breathing sunk in, I noticed the demon rolling toward me through the shattered lens of my helmet. I struggled to yank it off my head, and then in a burst of adrenaline I scrambled to my feet and threw it at the approaching demon with as much force as I could.

"Go to hell!" I screamed at it, releasing the terrified scream that had been locked in my throat during the crash, and collapsed hard onto the ground when the demon changed its course. I spotted my bike lying pathetically on its side several yards up the road, barely illuminated by a dim streetlight. The guitar case was scraped and battered a few feet away from me. I tried to crawl toward it, but my leg rendered me immobile when a scorching pain seared up my thigh and into my side.

My pants were shredded, and the flesh I could see was nearly deformed, that's how bad it was. Something hot and cold all at once tickled down the side of my face, and I touched my fingers to my temple. In the faint moonlight, I could make out the red liquid on my fingers.

That's when something really awful stood out to me. I hadn't noticed it properly before, because it was hard to see well in the dark. My leg was bleeding profusely, but it wasn't the same colour as the drops on my fingers. It was a mouldy, yucky green with a thicker consistency. I restrained myself from gagging at the sight of it.

The certainty that I was going to bleed to death if I didn't somehow get help, and soon, was a severe burden. It was with a heavy heart that I grappled for my phone and dialled the house. Eva was the first to answer with a placid 'Good evening, Eva speaking'.

I didn't talk to her, only put her on hold, and again dialled the same number. The house has several different extensions that calls get put through to when one line is busy. The next person to pick up was Dante. "...be calling at this hour, but they've got damn bad timing. I'm still going to show you a thing or two, just you wait and see." By his tone of voice, I'd interrupted a play session with him and his brother. "Hello, who is this?" He snapped into the phone.

I put him on hold, and once more dialled the number. There were several rings before, finally, Vergil answered.  
"What do you want?" He said in a voice that made me feel very inferior. Clearly, they'd decided someone was pulling prank calls on them.

It was demoralising that he was the one I was calling for help. Whether he would actually give a damn about helping me was a chance I was willing to risk. I didn't want Dante to see me like this, especially because he was still fighting my case as a witch rather than a demon. I was hoping Vergil thought of me as a vital enough part of his plan to not let me die. "I had an accident. Can you come help me? Please don't tell Dante."

He hesitated, and the bite in his words dwindled into surprise. "Where are you?"

"You'll know. Just head toward town," I said, staring at the lit windows of the Sparda fortress in the distance. I cut the call off and lay back to stare up at the night sky. I didn't know whether my body was shaking because of the chill in the air, or because of the trauma I'd sustained. It was really hard to stay awake. I fought hard to remain conscious, trying to concentrate on deciphering which of the blinking dots were stars and which were satellites. Part of me knew that if I closed my eyes, I wouldn't open them again.

I tried to sit up when the sound of another bike roared down the street. I thought he was going to speed right by, but the bike came to a sharp skidding stop near my own. One leg extended to balance, and Vergil climbed off the motorbike with a lot more grace than I would ever be able to manage. He wasn't wearing his helmet, and his hair was a windblown mess across his forehead when he looked at my damaged bike.

He studied it briefly, and then he was strolling toward me like he had all the time in the world. His long blue coat swirled around his ankles, and the crunch of his boots across the gravel was the only sound in the abandoned silence around us. How he could see me in the dark all the way from the road was beyond me, but I was faintly grateful because I didn't think I had the competency to call out to him.

Vergil came to a halt beside me and looked down at me, his analysing gaze raking me up and down. He slowly came down on his haunches.  
"What happened?"

"A demon happened," I said, and tried to swallow when my words slurred, only to taste blood on my tongue.

"How fast were you going?" Vergil asked.

"I don't remember. Are you going to interrogate me until I die, or are you going to help me?"

Vergil moved, and for a split second I thought he was about to draw Yamato and run me through with it. His hand delved into a pocket, and then he held three glowing blue orbs toward me.

"What is that? I'm not eating that."

"Imbecile. Give me your hand," Vergil scowled.

I hesitated, and jerkily lifted my hand when a look of pure impatience crossed his face. He dropped the orbs onto my palm, and closed his hand over mine. His skin was surprisingly warm, and the orbs startlingly cold. There was a quick, bright blue flash between our hands. The pain, the shakes, and the dizziness snapped off like someone had thrown a light switch. I felt whole. I felt strong. I felt hellishly good.

"What was that?" I asked curiously.

"You're able to get up now?" Vergil answered.

I carefully climbed to my feet, unnerved by the tingling in my legs and arms. "Just so we're clear, this isn't any 'I owe you' type of thing. I'm going to find a way not to help you, you know."

"I go out of my way to help you and this is how you repay me?" Vergil demanded.

"Don't play coy with me," I said, narrowing my eyes at him. "You knew I wasn't going to fall on my knees and worship you for helping me. How could I when you threatened to hurt your own mom and brother?"

"For someone who is in a very delicate situation, you show a great amount of disregard to your own safety. Pretending to be fearless is as good as having no intellect."

"The only thing that scares me anymore is _me,_" I spat back and brushed past him to scoop up the guitar case. "And anyway, I'm more scared you'll hurt the others than me."

"You have a selfless spirit," Vergil said, staying in stride beside me. "You wouldn't have assisted me if I merely threatened to end your life. My mother and Dante make good leverage to have you comply to my wishes."

I thought it over and lifted my bike with a grunt. "Clever bastard. What if I decide I don't give a shit who lives and who dies?"

"Then it was an error on my part to have involved you in my plot at all," Vergil said, mounting his own bike with ease. "Though, I'm never wrong." He looked like Dante right that moment, with his messy hair and the cocky, confident sneer on his lips.

"You'd hope so, wouldn't you?" I said, struggling to get onto my bike. I was still revving it up when Vergil pulled away with a squeal of tyres. I watched his bike fade into the dark.

If I was going to be stuck as a demon, I sure as hell hoped I had some kind of power. Like toasting Vergil's ass with just a glance.

**~...~**

**Author's note, or as I call them, hiccup****: Did anyone catch the mention of **_**Cobra**_**? I love Johnson, but I still don't get how he got to be Dante's muse, he seemed pretty dull in comparison from what I recall. Anyway! Hideki is my hero – I want to give him the biggest hug and kiss. I love that dude's brilliant mind *sigh* I still wish I was him though, so I can say 'Dante is MINE' and have copyright to show for it.**

***Ahem.* I need help figuring out the timeline and the appropriate age for Dante throughout the games, so if anyone has mastered to do this, please HELP? **

**I know in DMC3 he was 19, but which came after DMC 3? Was it DMC 2, or DMC1? I know DMC 1 took place before the events of DMC 4, because Dante hooks up with Trish in 1 and in 4 they're accustomed to one another as a team (I'm guessing Dante is late 30's, early 40's, it's hard to tell with all that WHITE HAIR! Lol)**

**If anyone has figured out the right age and sequence of events, please PM me. I suck at numbers, I always get it wrong. And if anyone knows what age Nero is, that would be very helpful as well (I'm taking a guess of between 19 and 21?) I can't figure out when exactly Eva died and the boys got split up. I know Trish says something about 20 years ago, but that's not helpful since I don't know how old Dante is in DMC1.**


	15. Wrath

My mind was still reeling with visions of inflicting one or the other despicable injury on Vergil when I pulled up outside the house and cut the engine. I left my bike next to its blue and silver counterparts. Dante had traded bikes with me a week ago, but I still took the red one out of habit.

"...some way to cheat. How come you can dodge that and I can't? You're not telling me something," Dante's voice came from the family den when I stepped into the warm, brightly lit front foyer.  
I closed the door quietly behind me and went to clean myself up in the bathroom. My pants were ruined beyond repair, stained with green goo, and I bundled it together under my arm. I didn't want to have to explain to Eva exactly how it got torn the way it did. I'll have to discard of the evidence.

All my jeans were in the wash and I was left with a cupboard full of skirts and dresses. I seized hold of a long skirt that came down in soft waves around my ankles and slipped into the light creamy material. It wasn't that I didn't like wearing dresses and skirts – nothing made me feel more like a girl – the problem was that it wasn't practical to wear when your friends are guys. Climbing trees, running races, wrestling; things you didn't dare try without something tight-fitting. It was hard to get accustomed to the thick material swirling and wrapping around my legs, and I nearly tripped myself going back downstairs.

I gathered the skirt in my fists, stepping carefully. I reached the bottom step, and was just thinking how glad I was that I hadn't sent myself rolling down the stairs when my foot caught on something. I stumbled and caught myself, and turned to stare at the culprit.

Rebellion gleamed back at me almost mockingly. I glanced toward the family den when I heard laughter, and decided to try move the sword by myself. I grabbed hold of the hilt with both my hands, and braced myself to drag it across the floor. I'd only held Rebellion once before, when Dante had first got it, and if memory served it was heavy as hell.

Memory didn't serve – or maybe it was because of something else. The sword yielded so easily that I nearly fell back with the momentum I was using to lift it. I cried out in surprise when the blade brimmed a hazy red at me, and then Dante appeared out of nowhere.

"What are you up to?" Dante asked, taking the sword from me.

"I just got home," I said, startled. "Why did your sword flash at me?"

"Dunno. Maybe it thought it was going to get some action," Dante shrugged, and gave me a cheeky look.

"Yeah. Right," I said and dodged his reaching hand. "Where's Eva?"

"Upstairs, I think. Can you come keep score?"

I followed him to the family den. He left the sword leaning against the wall and threw himself down on the couch beside Vergil. I picked up the notepad and pencil on the coffee table, and glanced at the scribbled numbers before curling up on the couch furthest from Vergil.

It didn't matter how much I wanted to be cursed with demonic power to whip Vergil's butt. The fact was that I didn't have any power like that. The truth was that he would stuff me up, with or without power. He expected me to oblige to his evil scheme, and he would undoubtedly tack the blame on me if anyone discovered what was going on. There was no way out. I had no choice.

Unless I ran away. Properly ran away, for good. But that brought up a whole barrage of different issues. Where would I go, how would I get there, and what would I do once I got to my destination? The easy answer was, go to Uncle Dill and Aunt Babe. They lived far enough from Metropolis. There would be no chance of me accidentally running into Vergil, and I wouldn't have to worry about trying to survive out on the cold streets. But then I'd have to live with fear and pray Vergil didn't come after me.

"What's up?" Dante broke through my gloomy thoughts.

I was staring blindly out the window, the pencil I'd been using to doodle next to their scores held unmoving in my hand. He and Vergil were looking at me, game controllers in hand. Dante's elite avatar adorned with rifle and grenades was jumping in victory on the screen.

"Nothin'," I mumbled.

"Juice, anyone?" Vergil asked and rose to his feet.

"I'm good, thanks," Dante sent him a glance, and dropped to his knees on the carpet to readjust the wire of his controller.

"Only if you poison it and put me out of my misery," I said.

Both boys paused to stare at me, and Vergil's stunned expression turned stony. He said nothing. He didn't have to. His body language was screaming out at me – I was treading in dangerous waters. He made a curt wave of disregard. Dante watched him, and turned to me with genuine worry in his eyes once Vergil was gone. He waddled on his knees over to me and disengaged the pencil from my hand. I shook my head in confusion when he held it back to me in offering.

"Here. Stick this up your nose."

"What?" I choked out.

"Stick it up your nose," he repeated with emphasis. "It will make you feel better."

"Don't be silly," I said, snatching the pencil from him. "You stick it up _your_ nose."

"Don't turn this ugly. I'm trying to cheer you up," Dante said, giving an exaggerated sigh. "Seriously, what's the problem?"

"Vergil," I spat out.

"Well. That's a first. I thought you and Verge used to be pretty close," Dante said.

"Used to. Past tense," I said gloomily.

"Did you guys have a fight or something?" Dante asked.

"I can't talk about it," I squirmed and looked away.

"Can't, huh?" Dante said suspiciously. He sent another glance at the doorway. "Tell me what happened. I won't let anyone else find out, I promise."

I stared at him hopefully, and glanced toward the door nervously. Here it was. If there ever was an opportunity, this was it. Just do it. The words were on the tip of my tongue, yearning to be voiced.

"Did you meet up with him before he came back home? I haven't seen you smile once since he's been back, and _nothing_ has happened between you two while he's been here," Dante said.

"How would you know?" I asked, startled.

"Are you kidding? Your smile is the only thing that gives me the green light to come near you without getting a boot up my ass," Dante said.

"No, man. Not _that,_" I said. "Did he say anything?"

"What? No," Dante frowned. "It was pretty obvious, Cora. You're the only one who didn't look surprised to see him."

"He wants to open the portal to the demon world to get your dad's sword," I said, dropping my voice low and glancing at the doorway anxiously.

"Yeahhh," Dante said slowly.

"He needs you to help him do that," I said, and felt my heart sink to my stomach at Dante's baffled frown.

"Yeahhh," Dante repeated, and shook his head. "That's what's upset you?"

"You know about it?" I asked, taken aback.

"Well, yeah, he's mentioned it on occasion. I'm still making up my mind whether to actually help him or not," Dante said with a little shrug. "So you're mad at him because he wants to get my dad's sword back?"

"I'm not mad at him," I said, and tensed when there was a faint bang from the kitchen. "I'm _scared_ of him."

"Ah-huh," Dante chuckled. When I put a hand to my head in frustration, his laughter cut off. "Are you serious? How can you be scared of _him_?"

"He threatened me," I hissed, and nearly jolted out of the seat when Vergil reappeared with a glass in hand.

"Ready for a rematch?" Vergil asked, taking his position on the couch once again and looking at us expectantly. He narrowed his eyes at my expression, and his voice dipped into venom. "What?"

I pursed my lips, looking from Dante to Vergil and back with a silent plea.

"We'll talk later," Dante said indecisively, and quickly glanced at Vergil over his shoulder. He looked back at me and gave my hand a little pat. "Okay?"

"'kay," I said quietly. I watched Dante waddle back on his knees and hoist himself onto the couch lazily, picking up his own controller. The game had barely gotten started when Eva appeared in the doorway. I automatically uncurled from the couch and started to my feet.

"I've been waiting for you, young lady," Eva said. From the resolved line set on her usually approachable features, it was pretty clear that Eva meant business. "Study. Now."

"Yes, ma'am," I muttered.

"You too, Vergil," Eva said.

Dante dropped his controller, gaping at Eva and Vergil. "Hey! What about me?"

Vergil slowly put down his controller and climbed to his feet as Eva berated Dante. "You stay down here, Dante. I need a private word with these two. I mean it, Dante. _Stay here_."

"But Mom..."

"Dante," Eva said warningly, and Dante slumped into sulking silence.

I walked ahead of them to the study. Vergil's posture very obviously portrayed what he didn't say in words – he thought I'd spilled the beans to Eva. The calculated manner of his steps and the cold glint in his eyes was double as frightening. I hoped Dante would follow and intervene, I really did.

I sat down in Sparda's old armchair behind the glossy mahogany desk, scanning for anything nearby that I could attempt to use as a weapon for self-defence. A ballpoint pen in a stationary tin, a stack of papers. Unless I could cause a fatal paper cut, we were doomed.

Vergil leaned against the wall beside the hearth mantelpiece with his shoulder, and folded his arms across his chest with predatory grace. My eyes flitted to Yamato on his side. Did he never leave that thing from his sight? Eva closed the door behind her and stood motionless, her hand still resting on the doorknob. Her blue eyes were hard and her lips set in a grim line. She didn't quite look like the Eva I knew. She didn't say anything at first. She just looked at me and Vergil. She was almost scarier than Vergil right then. I jumped in my seat when she abruptly yanked the door back open.

"What did I say?" She almost shouted.

"I was just going to the bathroom..." Dante exclaimed guiltily.

"Get downstairs young man..." Eva disappeared from the room, and I heard Dante's weak protests as he was ushered away.

"You had anything to do with this?" Vergil asked, slowly rubbing the bridge of his nose as if this whole affair was giving him a headache.

"No," I said coldly.

Vergil's gaze focused on me with a critic glare. "Tell me the truth, or else."

I glared back at him helplessly. "She said she wanted to talk to me after school. I don't know what about, and I don't know why you're here, too."

Eva glided into the room a second later, and firmly locked the door behind her before turning to face us. "Sit down, Vergil."

Vergil stopped rubbing his forehead and dropped his hand in a gesture of intolerance. His standing posture seemed to have some intimidation over her as well, but Eva had a lot more guts than anybody else would have had. She seized Vergil by the sleeve and physically steered him toward me.

"Sit down," she snapped the words out, and Vergil reluctantly perched on the edge of the desk.

"What is this about?" Vergil demanded.

Eva placed her hands on her hips, and for a few long moments she did nothing but stare at us through narrowed eyes.

"I want to make one thing clear," Eva finally spoke, and her voice was uncharacteristically harsh. "We will not leave this room tonight, until you tell me the truth. And I will know if you're lying to me."

"The truth about what?" I asked nervously.

"What exactly it is that you two are up to," Eva said flatly.

"Oh. Why don't you tell her, Vergil?" I asked, and won a look from him that would have mutilated me if there had been any power behind it.

"What specifically are you referring to, mother?" Vergil asked instead.

"Don't take me for a fool, Vergil," she scowled. Eva became an unstable time-bomb when she got angry. Her voice was shaking, and filled with a frosty edge that rivalled that of Vergil's. "The way you two look at one another. The way you speak to each other. The tension between you two whenever Dante is in the room. I have had enough! I will let you know I will not allow anyone to get hurt."

I stared at her in shocked bewilderment. Vergil responded with an impatient sigh. "What are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," Eva gave Vergil a glare that made him cringe. "This is absolute nonsense, this thing you two are brewing right under our noses. You can't believe that no one has noticed something going on. Whenever I catch you two alone, you're both flushed in the face and you disappear before I can corner you," Eva waved at Vergil, and turned disapproving eyes on me. "And you can barely string a sentence together, Cora."

"What we discuss in private is none of your concern," Vergil said calmly.

"That's his fault," I said weakly.

"_No_. This has got to stop," Eva exploded. "You're young. I understand that. It does not justify how much you're hurting Dante."

The silence that followed was deafening as the reason for this confrontation suddenly made sense. Eva was breathing hard, glaring at us, obviously expecting us to fess up. I stared at her for another stunned moment, and exchanged startled looks with Vergil. Neither of us saw that one coming.

"You cannot be implying what I think you are," Vergil said, tearing his gaze from mine to look at Eva in disconcerting amusement. "You think Cora and I are familiar on an intimate level?"

"We're not. At all. Ever," I said, shaking my head vigorously. "That's just crazy talk."

"Then why do you always run in opposite directions when I catch you two alone?" Eva demanded.

"Because I want to get away from him," I said defiantly, and glared when Vergil chuckled. "Wipe that smile off your face, you bastard."

"Dante instigated this, didn't he?" Vergil said, ignoring me.

"It makes no difference to the matter, but yes. Dante came to me," Eva said evenly. "He didn't want to hear the truth from the horse's mouth, so to speak."

I leaned back in the chair. It felt like a train had just run me over, twice. "Why would he do that?"

"I suppose he didn't trust what he would do if he caught you in the act," Eva said, and her braced demeanour began to wither. "And I don't blame him. If you feel you two are better suited, then have the common decency to at least tell Dante. Don't hurt him this way, please, Cora."

The shock of the whole situation had worn off, and a flood of hot tears broke over my cheeks as the horrible, churning coldness of the reality behind it smacked into me. My chest gave a single, bone shattering ache, and my entire body throbbed with a sickening feeling.

"This... this is all your fault," I snapped, kicking the chair out from underneath me and shoving Vergil off his perch.

"Watch it!" Vergil caught himself easily. His hand hovered dangerously close to Yamato, and by the icy determination in his shoulders I knew he wouldn't think twice to draw his weapon. Right that moment, I didn't care. He'd be doing me a favour by cutting out my heart – _anything_ to stop this horrible feeling inside of me.

"Cora!" Eva said, taken aback.

I strolled right up to him, stepping through his shield of cold aloofness and closing the proximity between us. I held his gaze firmly, evenly, unwavering.

"There are no words," I hissed through my teeth. I didn't need to say more. He knew what I meant.  
I was tempted to land a good punch in his head, but my body was out of control and shaking violently.

He didn't flinch. Instead, he brought his face even closer to mine, his eyes burning into mine. "It will all end. Soon."


	16. Gluttony

Eva stepped into the midst of the death glare match. "If we got it all wrong, then what is going on?"

"Ask him," I snapped. "If you think you're going to intimidate me, Vergil, think again."  
I didn't wait for a response from either. I unlocked the study door and bolted from the house to take refuge in the hollow of the truck tyre in the backyard. The wind was rough and cold tonight, and battered against the swing.

I folded myself into a tight little ball and cried into my arms. I cried until my body was literally exhausted, until even my tears got too tired to run free. Then I just sat in the dark, my head pressed to my knees; with the predicament I was in running relentlessly through my mind, and the intense mix of emotions inside my chest making me feel physically ill.

I heard the screen door faintly squeal open and Eva call out to me. It slammed shut a long minute later, and I hugged my knees even tighter to my chest. I needed to get away somehow. Vergil made it clear that he was going to make his demands soon. Playtime was over – this was do or die.

I didn't venture into the house until the cold drove me to it. There was that hushed middle of the night silence hanging over the fortress when I made my way to my room. I paused outside Dante's door for a split second, and a shudder of emotion shook through me. Idiot. If he only knew.

My room was probably the blackest in the entire house. I carefully edged my way to my bedside light, blindly found the button, and depressed it. Pale purple light flooded half the room, illuminating the boy stretched out on my bed. I backtracked from him so fast that I knocked hard into the dresser behind me. He looked remorseful, his regal features tainted by uncertainty and hurt.  
We looked at one another in silence. When he held his arms to me, I shook my head and took another step back.

"How could you even think like that?" I asked, and my inner demon cursed when a fresh flood of tears started.

"What was I supposed to think?" Dante said and sat himself up.

"I thought you trusted me. If you don't trust me, what's the point?" I said. "I can't believe you would suspect me of cheating. With your _brother_. Dante, what were you thinking?"

"You would have thought the same. What do you want me to do, Cora?" Dante said irritably. "You never give me a clear cut answer – are we official, or are you just playing me? And there's been some dodgy vibes between you and Vergil that point to the latter."

"If you only knew half the monster he is!" I said.

"Keep it down. Let's not wake the whole neighbourhood," Dante leaned forward. He didn't really seem that bothered about anyone overhearing us, but I simmered down anyway. Dante continued quietly, "Tell me what's going on."

"Vergil said he'd do horrible things if I told anyone."

A tight, bitter smile flashed across his lips. "I can do more than horrible," Dante said coldly, and then added thoughtfully, "I never would have taken my brother for the romantic type. He sure stooped low, by his standards."

My tears dried up in shock. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"He has a biased outlook on humans," Dante shrugged, stubbornly avoiding looking at me. It was obvious he was trying to insult me, but it evoked an entirely different emotion in me.

"You mean he prefers the company of demons," I said slowly. The words were mocking, and cruel. I shrunk back against the wall and wrapped my arms around myself. "You're reading into things the wrong way, Dante. He's only using me to get to you."

"Hey, don't try to make me feel sorry for you," Dante lifted to his feet, and I flattened myself against the wall when he jabbed his finger at me angrily. "_I'm_ the victim here, not you."

"He's using me to help him," I squeaked.

"To help him do what?" Dante demanded, lowering his piercing eyes to meet mine dead on. "C'mon. I feel like I'm extracting chicken teeth here."

"To help him get back Sparda's sword."

"Don't start with me on that. I already told him I'm not doing it, so try another one, Cora," Dante growled. "What's the matter? Can't think of another excuse? I'm sure you can come up with something."

"It's not an excuse, it's the truth," I said.

"Bull," Dante said apprehensively and chucked himself back on the bed. "There's nothing honest about any of this. You've both been lying to me from day one. I'd hoped it was all genuine. Hell, I was convinced some of it was... though that might be wishful thinking."

"I'm sorry," I choked out, and sucked in a deep breath to regain my composure. "I'm sorry," I repeated in a more coherent voice and dropped my hands to my sides. "It's not fair that this had to happen, but you have to believe me. I was trying to protect you."

"By lying to me," Dante said.

"I've never lied to you. Vergil threatened me if I didn't help him. And he reinforced his threats, too," I said mutedly, turning my hand this way and that at the memory. "I couldn't live with myself if I said no." I licked my lips and could taste my own fear. "I haven't said yes either, though."  
I couldn't force myself to look at him. Silence lingered in the room, and I could feel his eyes on me, willing me to look up. I didn't.

"He said he'd kill me, didn't he?" Dante asked, and every inch of my skin crawled at the cold indifference in his voice. He was beyond anger. When Dante approached anything with a calm and solemn mindset - there were only three words to be said. Run. Like. Hell.

"No," I said quietly, and I couldn't keep my voice straight. "He said he'd kill me and m...Eva, and make you watch."

"He's bluffing," Dante said after a second of hesitation.

"He seemed pretty convincing to me."

"He won't hurt Mom. He can act as cool and demented as he wants. Vergil doesn't have that in him to hurt her. Maybe me. Very possibly you. But not my mom."

"I don't know," I said, shifting awkwardly when I briefly glanced at his grave posture. "He's power hungry. That's why he left, Dante. He told me so. And I really really wish he didn't come back."

Thump... thump-thump... thump...  
My heart was struggling to breathe in the eerie silence that followed. I waited for the next torrent of painful words to be flung at me; waited for the taught string that connected the two of us to snap for good.

Dante's sigh rocketed through the room. There was shuffling, a faint click.

I looked up when the thrum of nylon strings sounded through the room, and watched Dante cradling the black and silver guitar on his lap. He made slight adjustments to the tuning, lips pursed and eyebrows knitted in sensitive concentration. I clumsily went and sank down on the bed beside him, scanning the guitar in surprise. The casing had taken some damage with the accident earlier, but the guitar itself had miraculously come off without a scratch.

"I got that for you," I said, and added morosely, "It was going to be my attempt to win you back from Vergil."

"Hmpf."

"Really," I said. "I was even going to offer to teach you how to play."

"Why, because you think I lack the emotional depth to understand music?" Dante said, but his tone was light and almost teasing.

"You can play?" I asked when he caught my stare.

Dante grimaced modestly and flicked the little switch to turn the guitar on electric. He rose to his feet in front of me, and his long slender fingers danced up and down the guitar with familiar ease. I tensed for a brief moment when the notes rang out too loudly in the dead of night, crashing into the walls and echoing back at us. But then, I didn't care if he woke the whole world.

The chords were clear and sweet - the sound itself wrapped around me and soaked into my being. The tune was hauntingly beautiful, and a little sad, and it moved my heart in a way nothing else ever could. He was a brilliant player. The fact that he could shred as good as he was doing right then showed off his expertise. I felt deprived of something infinitely precious when his fingers came to a bittersweet stop and the last lingering notes faded into the night.

"What are you doing with Roman's guitar?" Dante asked when silence reclaimed its territory.

"He gave it to me. You're awesome," I said without the usual flicker of annoyance or embarrassment that accompanied my compliments. "I didn't know you could play like that."

"Yeah. Well," Dante said self-effacingly. "You like it?"

"I'd ask you to play more if it meant we wouldn't wake up Eva," I said.

Dante grinned and strummed a few more notes. "I can play for you all night long, if you want. Mom loves it, so she won't mind. B'sides, she's the one who taught me."

"Okay," I said eagerly.

It was amazing how he could crack out one after the other melody, the next more captivating and moving than the previous. His fingers never relinquished their graceful ease and stamina. At some point during the night, I saw Eva appear discreetly in my doorway. She stood there for a long time, listening and watching. I thought I saw her wipe at her eyes with her sleeve, but I couldn't tell much in the dim light. Dante didn't notice her presence.

When Dante tried to call it a night, I begged him for another song. And one more. And another. Dawn was winking through my curtains when Dante finally laid the guitar back in its casing.

"One more?" I asked hopefully.

"I'm tired," Dante said and unwound beside me.

"Just a last one. Please?"

"Uh-uh," Dante sighed and made himself comfortable on my bed. "Enough already."

"But you're so good," I wheedled. Dante closed his eyes and slumped an arm across his face lazily. When he didn't budge, I let out a long sigh, and stared at the guitar. The room felt empty now that it was void of sound.

Funny how something so trivial as silence could remind you of the harsh realities of life. It made me feel hollow, and even when Dante pulled me down next to him and cradled me, I felt completely and utterly alone.

~...~


	17. New addition

**~...~**

"Pass it! Pass it!"

"Watch your left! Watch ou...oooh!"

A collective groan of angry defeat rose from our supporters while the bleacher across the field thundered with cheer. Black and white warriors were battling it out in the otherwise peaceful afternoon.

"Get it back!" Lorry shouted angrily.

"They're too close, they're going to pull it off. Van isn't that good of a goalie," Roman muttered and threw his empty soda can at the ground by our feet.

I pursed my lips and looked at the scoreboard. Visitors: 2. Home: 2. I looked back over the field as the players stampeded toward the goal line. It was over. There was only three minutes before end of game play, and the referee on duty today had a tendency to cut games just before the ninety minute mark.

"Nah-ah. We will win," I said, even though it very clearly looked like it was going to either be a tie, or the opposing team was going to beat us by one. I could only hope that my promise to fulfill an unhealthy addiction if our team won, was going to be sufficient motivation.

"They're a hard team to beat. They annihilated the Metropolis college team last week. We're little league, we never stood a chance," Roman scuffed at the ground gloomily.

"I wouldn't bet on it," I said and leaned against the fence, trying to spot that silver head between the herd of players. "We've got something they don't."

"Ugh, please, Cora. We've got boys. They've got...well, experienced boys," Lorry said, banging her head against the fence.

"There he is!" I jumped, pointing, and cupped my hands around my lips. "Run! _Dante, run!_"  
Standing on ground level didn't give me a clear view of what was happening on the field, but I could see Dante catching up to the white T-shirts that were passing the ball to one another. Black shirts tried to run ahead to block the shot when they gave up any hope of retrieving the ball.

"Damn it, they're going to score," Roman said, tensing up and watching.

I tried to stand on tiptoes, clinging at the fence to try get a better view. Dante made a turn and disappeared behind a few other shirts. I wished I could grow taller. "What's he doing?"

Lorry stared, and then she let out a little shriek. "He tackled him! He stole the ball back! Run! Run!"

I watched Dante dribble the ball across the sprawling green field, dodging and weaving the white attacking players with ridiculously brilliant footwork.  
The bleacher behind us erupted in ecstatic encouragement that shook the ground beneath our feet and made the air tremble. The roar turned into a combined chant when it became quite obvious that nothing was going to stand in the half-demon boy's path toward his goal.

Dante!  
Dante!  
Dante!  
There was a moment of silence when everyone held their breath as Dante reached his mark.

"He shoots..." Roman said tersely when Dante drew back his leg and executed a perfect kick. The goalie dived, missed, and the ball embraced the white netting. "_He scores!_"

Inebriated shouts of victory resounded all around us when the whistle blew a second later. Our other team players rushed over to lift their winner on their shoulders, and then students swarmed off the bleachers and circled them in good cheer on the field. I hung back by the fence with Lorry, watching Dante soak up his moment of glory.

"That was a good game," I said when Roman finally rejoined us.

"Yeah, I didn't think we'd get this one," Roman said in agreement. "After last week's basketball game, you know Dante took a pretty bad fall when Taylor knocked him down. If I was him, I wouldn't have been able to play in the match today. I guess that's the added bonus of being half-demon, right, healing quicker than most of us?"

"Don't be silly," I smacked him playfully on the shoulder, but there was bite behind my words.

Lorry drew a sharp breath beside me. "That little sleaze! You might want to go get Nadine off your boyfriend, Cora. Before she sucks his face off."

I turned slowly to look in the direction she was indicating. Most of the congratulatory supporters were leaving the field. Dante was hanging behind with a few of the other team players – and the tall, pretty brunette head cheerleader was, as Lorry put it, sucking off Dante's face.

"What a little..." I started, and stared when Lorry stormed toward them. I fell silent, and exchanged looks with Roman.

"You might want to get over there," Roman said gently.

"It's too awkward. I'll let Dante deal with it," I said uneasily.

"You know Nadine, when she looks at any guy it's like heaven opens up and the angels sing. There's no competing with that. Every guy in school wants a piece of her, and I don't see Dante pushing her away..." Roman said.

"Just wait until the angels see who she's trying to hook up with. There will be screams," I interjected.

Roman grimaced. "You really should get over there, Cora. Things are turning ugly."

I glanced toward them again. Lorry had Nadine by the hair, and the two girls were clawing at each other like cats fighting over a piece of fish.  
"Oh, come on, Roman. Getting hit on by the hottest girl in school, and having his ex-girlfriend pick a fight should be enough drama. I don't want to traumatise him by throwing myself into the mix," I said and giggled at Roman's incredulous snort.

"It doesn't bother you that girls are throwing themselves at him?" Roman asked sceptically.

"If you think this is bad, you didn't see what went down after we won the basketball game," I said, flushing at the memory. "Things got really ugly when I had to pry a group of leeches off him."

"He's not doing much to deter their advances, though, is he?"

"Well, what can I do, right?" I said with a dismissive shrug.

Dante had disengaged himself from the fight and was heading in our direction, a disconcerted grin on his face. "I think certain people get too excited about winning," he said when he reached us.

"Good game," Roman said, and shifted awkwardly. "I gotta run. Catch you guys later."

"Roman," I sighed, but he hurried away like the devil was chasing him. When I looked at Dante, he was juggling the soccer ball with his feet. His blonde hair was damp and clinging to his forehead, and the loose black shirt drenched in sweat. Maybe it was just me, but he never smelled bad when he was sweating. It was actually a kind of pleasant smell.

Maybe that was what drove girls to launch themselves at him after a game. Au de Dante cologne. If I could market that, I'd become stinky rich. I tried to suppress a giggle at the thought.

"How about I collect my winnings now?" Dante said, squinting at me. "I've been looking forward to that sundae all afternoon."

"Why didn't you just separate them, Dante?" I asked when I saw Lorry and Nadine really going at it. They were rolling on the floor like amateur wrestlers. The anger and drive was there, but they lacked the skill to execute. Kids were crowding around them and shouting 'fight, fight'.

"I don't want to get involved," Dante said.

"You want another rerun of last week? I'll kill someone if you don't go intervene."

"But , Cora..." Dante cajoled.

"Go sort them out. Or no strawberry sundae for you," I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Hey, you can't go back on your bet, and I won the game fair and square."

"Go," I pointed toward the fight. Dante looked at them glumly, back at me, and then heaved a sigh of defeat.

I slowly trailed behind him, watching when Dante went and broke up the fight, firmly but carefully separating the two girls from one another. It was funny to watch, because Dante had to shield Lorry from a somewhat crazed Nadine. Well, it was funny up to the point where heated words were exchanged between Dante and Nadine, and Dante won a good hard slap for his efforts.

Possessive rage overtook me in a cloud of red hot fire. I'd crossed the distance in a matter of seconds. Nadine's arm was still pulling back from hitting him when I stepped right in front of her.  
"You touch him," I said angrily, pointing at Dante. He was rubbing his cheek gingerly, his expression startled. "You touch _me_." I said, and hit her.

She smacked into the ground like a sack of potatoes, and lay unmoving on the grass. My knuckles throbbed for a few seconds longer while I shook my hand, and then Dante was pulling me away.  
"Let's get going before one of the teachers get here," Dante muttered in my ear as he steered me away.

I glanced over my shoulder. Kids were crouching down beside Nadine. She still wasn't moving.  
"I think I killed her," I said worriedly, glancing up at him.

"You just knocked her out," Dante said reassuringly. "That was a good punch."

"Well, in that case," I said, sending another look over my shoulder. "Let's get out of here before Lorry decides to latch onto us."

We slipped off the field and didn't slack our speed until we were clear of the school yard. We reverted to a more leisurely pace when we hit the sidewalk and passed the park. It was a nice day out for long wandering walks. There wasn't any wind, the sun wasn't too hot, and the sky was a clear cool blue that reflected in Dante's eyes.

I thought I caught sight of something small and orange scattering along behind us, but when I turned to look there was nothing. Just the leafs, I tried to reason – but there was no wind to kick up any of the dead leafs. I tried to shake off the little tremor of foreboding.

"It wasn't my fault," Dante said suddenly, sliding his hand into mine. "You know that, right?"

"I know. Do you feel like we're being followed?" I said, and when he leaned in to kiss me, I jerked away from him. "Gross, you still have her cooties all over you."

Dante groaned and tried to pout through a smile. "Don't be silly. She's not that good a kisser anyway."

I shook my head in response, watching my feet awkwardly. "So. Vergil and I were talking last night."

"What?" Dante asked unhappily. "I thought I told you not to let him corner you alone."

"He was waiting for me outside the bathroom in the middle of the night. It's not like I could actually dodge him and pretend he wasn't there," I said boldly. "_Any way_. He told me I had to start on one side of town tonight. Make the demons invade the town slowly."

"I don't get how _he_ can make you do anything. I can barely make you listen to me half the time. You're stubborn when you put your mind to something," Dante said. "And I don't see the point in any of it. I'm just going to be killing all the demons anyway, so how that will help him convince me it's somehow my dad's fault is beyond me."

"He doesn't know I've told you. That's why he's sticking to his plan," I said nervously. "And don't slip up and let him find out..."

"I won't. We've discussed this before, Cora. I'm not stupid," Dante cut in, and gave me a tight hug. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to."

"I know," I said weakly, and sent another quick glimpse over my shoulder when I heard a faint pitter-patter sound. What _was_ that?

"It's just... I don't know how we're going to get out of this. One way or the other, he's going to find out I've told you, and that would be nearly just as bad as actually doing what he wants me to. I mean, you could be wrong about him. He might make good on his word and hurt me and Eva."

"Heh," Dante huffed and messed my hair up playfully. "Stick with me kid. I'll protect you."

That was the thing about Dante. No matter how dangerous or scary something might be, he had a way of defusing the effect and turning it into something you simply couldn't take seriously. I lightly shoved him away and giggled. "Yeah? You just got stuffed up by a girl. Not much of a hero."

"That? I barely felt that," Dante said, rubbing his cheek in memory, and showed off an arrogant smirk. "Besides, it's not like I could defend myself. She's a _girl_. My mom would kill me. Resurrect me. And kill me again."

"True," I snorted, and froze. There was a sharp, hoarse yelp behind us, and we spun around in unison. I expected it to be a demon of some sort, so I was pleasantly relieved when it wasn't. I let my breath out when my eyes fixed on the thing that had been stalking us. "Oh."

It was tiny – I could pick it up in my one hand. It had twitching little ears, four scrawny looking legs, and a fine fiery coloured coat that shimmered in the sun. The beady black eyes blinked back at me when I crouched down slowly. One ear twitched nervously, and the tail wagged once, uncertain.

"Auw, _puppy_. Have you been following us?" I asked in friendly tones, and glanced around for an owner. There was no one else in sight.

"Cora, are you crazy?" Dante snapped.

The puppy let out another raspy bark. It was adorable, because I could squish it with one foot if I was mean enough. I wasn't, but Dante was. He stepped forward threateningly, and the dog bristled in response with a low, menacing growl.

"What? It's just a little baby, Dante," I shot back, and extended my hand. "Come here, puppy. Come here. Come on."

"Cora..."

"Shut up, you're going to scare it off. It's probably lost or something," I cut him off, and edged closer. "Come here, puppy dog. Don't be scared, I won't hurt ya." I patted my knees coaxingly, and the puppy obeyed. It didn't stop growling once, nor did it take its eyes off Dante.

I scratched it behind the ears when it reached me.  
"What kind of mutt are you? Cross breed? Husky? Or fox? Rat?" I asked it, and smiled when one of the little back legs lifted to scratch in enjoyment. "You are just too cute. I think I'm going to keep you."

"You're not keeping that thing in my house," Dante said coldly when I climbed to my feet, puppy in hand.

"What's your problem?" I frowned at him, and studied the puppy. It really was a beautiful little thing. "I know it's a stray, but it's not too old to be trained. Besides, I didn't think you hated animals."

"Animals are still fine..." Dante said.

"Then why are you kicking up a tantrum?" I interrupted, and turned the growling puppy to face me. "I think I'll call you Rambo. How's that? You like that?"

"That's not a dog," Dante protested when I started walking off.

"Funny. It's got ears, and a tail, and hey! Look, it's even got a snout. In my books, that classifies as a dog," I said sarcastically when Dante fell in stride beside me.

"It's going to hurt you," Dante said and reached for it. He yanked his hand back when the puppy gave him a good hard bite between his index finger and thumb, the little teeth sinking into the sensitive nerves and drawing little dots of blood. "Damn it! You little bastard!"

"Hey!" I said, flicking my finger at the puppy's nose. "Don't you ever hurt Dante again. That's a _naughty_ puppy." I chided, and looked at Dante worriedly. "It's not that bad, is it? You're so big, and Rambo is so small. I doubt he could really hurt you."

"Stop calling it Rambo," Dante glared at the dog in my hand. "Put it down so I can kill it."

I stopped and stared at Dante in shock. The puppy struggled in my arms when Dante stepped closer, and then it was trying to climb up my chest and jump over my shoulder. It was absolutely terrified of him – and right that second, so was I. I didn't recognize the look in Dante's eyes. I took a weary step back.

"What's gotten into you? It's just a dog, for heaven's sake," I said, and almost started crying when his face turned icy. "Dante, stop it. I'm not going to let you hurt this puppy."

I cradled the little animal closer to me, and received a feverishly thankful licking session in my neck. I stared back at Dante pleadingly. His eyes were focused on the dog for a few long moments, and his frosty resolve gave way to genuine confusion when the puppy went berserk in seeking comfort from me.

"Okay," he caved in reluctantly. "But if it hurts you, or anyone else, it's dead. No questions asked. Got it?"

"Okay," I said faintly. Rambo turned around to give him a cheeky bark before nuzzling hard into my neck again. I kept a little distance between us when we carried on our way to the mall. It bugged me to no end that Dante had reacted the way he had, but every time I tried to see a threat in Rambo, all I could see was a helpless, beautiful little puppy.

Maybe Dante just really didn't like dogs.

I grew more certain of this while I spoiled Dante to bottomless strawberry sundaes, at our favourite ice cream parlour next to the ice rink. He didn't stop staring at the puppy once. It was even freaking Rambo out. Dante was still tense, like he was going to launch across the table and snap its neck at the slightest provocation. I was tensed to bolt out of the booth if he did.

"I just want you to be prepared," Dante said when he pushed aside his last empty glass. "It's going to try attack my mom when we get home. And I'm going to kill it. Don't get too attached to it."

"It won't hurt your mom," I snapped back, and looked Rambo in the eye. "You won't hurt Eva, you hear me, Rambo? You're a good boy."

Dante shifted uncomfortably in his seat, and suddenly got up. "Let's go."

I was extremely nervous when we reached Dante's bike, still parked in the school parking lot. He fixed the helmet on my head, glaring at Rambo, and waited for me to climb on behind him. I nearly squished the puppy in an attempt to keep a good grip on it and Dante at the same time. My mind was spinning, but one thing was clear. I wasn't going to let him hurt this little thing.  
Over my dead body. Maybe Dante was possessed or something.

We walked into the house and I cradled Rambo close, and murmured in his ear, "Now, remember what I told you? You're a good boy. You won't hurt anyone, okay? Please, or Dante will go manic and shoot you or something."

Rambo licked my ear, but whether that was a sign that it understood what I was saying or not was a mystery. Eva was in her sewing room, fully distracted with her work. She didn't notice us until Dante loaded Ebony with a few bullets, and the metal clicking made Eva look up.

"Guess what I got," I said, stepping forward bravely.

Eva's gaze fixed on the puppy in my arms, and then she was all over me.  
"Oh! What a lovely little puppy! Auw, gosh, Cora, it's beautiful, where did you get it from? Hello, hello," Eva said, scratching the puppy vigorously under the chin. Rambo's back leg went off like it was trying to start a motorboat. "I've always wanted to get a puppy for the boys, but they never were really that interested in owning a pet. Too many other distractions," Eva said, sending a meaningful glance at the gun Dante was twirling expertly.

"I named him Rambo," I beamed.

"Rambo? Oh, he's just the tiniest little thing. I don't think I recognize the breed," Eva said excitedly, and frowned softly as she stroked his ears back. "He's not half-rat, is he? Maybe he's a miniature Doberman cross?"

"I don't know. He's a stray, so I'll need to take him for his shots to make sure he doesn't have any worms or anything like that," I said, and glared when Dante muttered 'I can give him a couple of shots for free'. "He can't be older than a few weeks, though."

"No, he does look too small to be all that old. That's wolf fur. In texture, at least," Eva said, thoughtfully petting the excited puppy. "I've never seen a colour like that before, though, it's so pretty."

"I know, isn't it? Everybody is so going to be jealous when they come visit and see this little cutie," I said with a wide grin.

"Well, we'll need to go buy supplies for him this afternoon then, won't we?" Eva said, smiling warmly. "Maybe a little bed, and we'll need to get handbooks on how to house train him..."

It was amid this verbal list when Vergil peeked his head into the room. "There you are. Enjoyed the game?" He asked Dante.

Dante shrugged in response. Vergil's eyes darted from the loaded gun in Dante's hand, to Eva, to me, and finally fixed on Rambo. His eyes widened and he strolled over, brushing Eva away firmly.

"Have you lost your mind? What the hell do you think you're doing bringing that thing near my mother?"

I shrunk away from him in stunned terror. I glanced from Dante's grim face to Eva's surprised one, and then finally met his gaze dead on. "It's my puppy. Don't go psycho on me like Dante did. I'm not getting rid of Rambo."

"Rambo?" Vergil sputtered huffily and whirled on Dante. Dante pursed his lips and straightened up in silent answer. Vergil slowly turned back to me, and his anger faded into amusement. "Rambo." He repeated, and let out a hearty laugh.

"What is going on?" Eva demanded.

Her question fuelled Vergil's laughter. He shook his head, making his way to the door. He paused to wipe away a tear, and still chuckling said, "Coming, brother?"

"In a minute," Dante said. Something about his demeanour said that he didn't share Vergil's sense of humour. "I'm telling you, if that thing hurts you, I'm..."

Silence fell in the room when Eva took Rambo from me and turned to face the boys angrily. "Now, disliking animals is still fine, but I did not raise you to cause anyone or anything harm without good reason. Rambo stays. Do you have a problem with that?"

Dante backed down grudgingly. "Mom..."

Vergil let out a cool little laugh. "Suit yourself."

Dante stared from me to Eva, and put away his gun with an embarrassed grimace. "I'll be watching you." He snapped, pointing a finger at the dog. Rambo squirmed against Eva and responded with a little growl.

Eva stared after them when the boys left the room. "Come along, Cora. Let's go do some shopping."

**~...~**

In between all the thrill of settling our new family member into our home, I'd completely forgotten about the dreaded deed Vergil expected me to fulfill that evening. I didn't remember until he stooped down beside me after dinner and picked Rambo up by the extra fleshy rolls on the nape of his neck. The puppy squealed and pawed at him unhappily.

"You're hurting him," I said, trying to snatch the puppy back, but Vergil held the wriggling little bundle out of my reach.

"What are you still doing here?" Vergil asked precariously.

"What do you-" The words dried up when I realized what he was implying. "I'm...I'll go later. Or, you know, when everyone is asleep."

"No. We'll go now. I'll escort you," Vergil said, dropping the puppy carelessly.

I pouted and scooped the whining little ball of fur into my arms. "It's okay, Rambo. Poor puppy. If Vergil touches you again, you can go ape-shit on him. I don't care."

Vergil paused and gave me a calculated look. "Come _now_, Cora."

I shakily got to my feet and wiped my palms on my thighs. "Okay. Just...let me go find my coat."

"Your coat is by the front door. Where it always is."

"Right. Okay, well I need to go get my keys for the bike," I said.

"We're going on mine. Stop stalling."

My feet were heavy as I followed him to the front door. I took my time pulling on my coat and then fixing my shoes on my feet. Rambo was sniffling curiously around my hands, tail wagging excitedly. My super slow motions seemed to amuse Vergil more than anything else.

"What about Rambo? I can't leave him alone on his first night."

"Leave the thing. It will be fine."

"Wait. Let me just go give him to Eva so he doesn't think I'm abandoning him," I said, picking up the puppy and fleeing upstairs before Vergil could stop me.

Eva chided me when I burst into her bedroom. "Cora! Knock first, you know the rules! And what are you doing with your shoes on in my house?"

"I'm sorry, I just... Vergil wants me to go out with him and I didn't want Rambo to think I was leaving forever, because he's following me all over the house, so I just wanted to come give him to you..." I nearly choked when I rambled off the part about leaving forever. Because I probably wasn't coming back. I wasn't going to oblige to Vergil's demonic little plan, and he was going to torture me for it. Either that, or I was going to jump off the nearest bridge and pray to God the fall will kill me.

"All right, all right," Eva interrupted, and accepted the puppy from me. "Take care, and have fun."

"Yeah. Whatever," I said and dragged myself back downstairs. Vergil was waiting for me and held the door open. I glanced over my shoulder at the house one last time, and allowed him to steer me outside.

"Took your time."

My head snapped up. Dante was slouched across his bike, tossing the helmet from one hand to the other. His red coat swayed lightly in the cool breeze, and his eyes were piercing when he locked his gaze with Vergil's.

"I was starting to think I'm going to have to crash that party all by myself," Dante added and straightened up slowly.

He extended his arm and held the helmet toward me. My white knight on his fiery steed. I skipped forward and took his offering, pulling it over my head thankfully to hide my fear.

"What party?" Vergil demanded.

"To celebrate our win," Dante said innocently. "Want to come?"

Vergil bristled. "I think I'll give this one a miss."

"Sure? You'll be missing out on all the fun," Dante coaxed.

"Our definition of fun is at odds with one another," Vergil said coolly, and added to me, "I'll see you later."

I clambered onto the bike behind Dante and squeezed my arms around him hard. "Can we go? Like, now?" I asked when Vergil turned and stalked back into the house, blue coat bellowing behind him.

Dante grinned at me over his shoulder. "Told you I'll protect you."


	18. Pride

It was like stepping into a completely alternate dimension when the club doors swung closed behind us. White and green lights strobe in harmony with the deafening beat of the latest remix from _Scooter_. Someone had gotten hold of glow-in-the-dark paint and hands dunked in neon pinks, blues and yellows were waving in the air as the mass of bodies bobbed and swayed to the rhythm of the music. I took a bracing breath, and met Dante's eye evenly.

He got a good grip on my hand and we squeezed through the dancing horde to get to the other side of the club where the booths were situated. We located our friends and slid into the gap reserved just for us when drinks were passed around.

"What took you guys?" Roman asked while I suspiciously poked at my glowing blue drink with a straw.

"I forgot about the after-party," I admitted guiltily when Dante picked up my drink and swirled the liquid around to take a whiff of it. He'd taken to doing that after some ass had drugged my drink when I had a girl's night out with Lorry, in an attempt to save what was left of our friendship. It had been pure luck that Dante just happened to enter the tavern while Lorry and I were being dragged toward the exit. I shuddered to think what would have taken place if he hadn't decided on a whim to go check on me. Lorry couldn't remember much about what went down, which is just as well. It wasn't pretty.

"How could you forget?" Lorry exclaimed. "It's the highlight of the week!"

"I was distracted," I said and straightened, sending a wary glance at Dante. "I got a puppy."

"That explains it then," Roman muttered.

"A puppy? Why didn't you tell me? Is that where you guys disappeared to this afternoon? I would have come pick one out with you," Lorry said. "That's what friends do, you know. We support each other."

"Yeah...it's a stray, actually," I said, and pursed my lips hard together when Dante shoved the drink back at me, sending some of the liquid sloshing over the brim of the glass.

"I'm going to hang out with the guys," Dante said curtly, nodding toward another booth crowded with the soccer team and admiring female fans.

I lifted my hand in a 'whatever' gesture and dropped it back on the table, watching him head toward the center of attention through narrowed eyes. "Dante's not too happy about it. I don't know why," I added, and turned back to my friends. "You can stop by tomorrow to check it out, if you like. Eva and I spent the afternoon going through books on the different breeds of dog to try figure out what kind Rambo is, but we couldn't find anything. I think he's a new breed of some sort."

"I'm pretty clued up about dogs. My dad used to be a vet," Roman said, and slid out of the booth. "Gotta go get my front row seat, happy hour is in ten minutes."

"Don't get too happy!" Lorry called after him, and grinned at me. "You're not going to join him, are you?"

"Maybe later. I don't want to get too hyped up this early in the night," I shrugged.

"Speaking of getting hyped up," Lorry's smile disappeared, and she nodded toward the dance floor.

I sighed. I knew that look well – that possessive glare, and the jealous quirk of the lips. I followed her gaze to see what Dante was getting up to this time.  
He was between the dancing students busting out moves that, according to others, went beyond cool. Some of the movements were familiar – I could almost see him imagining kicking demon ass. It was funny to me, but everyone else was clearly in awe at the smooth dance twists he rocked out.

What caught my attention was the girl dancing up against him, dressed in a provocative little red number and swaying voluptuous hips seductively. Nadine had done a brilliant job at covering up the black eye I'd given her earlier. Right that moment I didn't know who was irritating me more – Nadine for trying her luck again despite my clear warning, Dante for being ignorant to the effect his current action had on me, or Lorry for pointing them out to me in the first place. I turned my back on them and took a long sip of my drink.

"...I heard that your performance on the dance floor reflects on how good or bad you are in bed." A chirpy female voice said in the booth beside ours. Lorry and I exchanged looks.

"He's _got_ to be hot."

"Wouldn't you like to know."

"Who wouldn't? Hey. Hey, Cora."

I groaned and sent a helpless look at Lorry. Tonight just wasn't going to be my night. My shot at ignoring the very loud conversation became pointless when the three girls draped themselves around me and Lorry.

"You and Dante are a couple, right?"

I studied the pretty blonde for a minute, and shrugged, gesturing toward the dancing crowd. "Does it look that way?"

"Oh, come now," the taller of the girls cajoled, glancing at Dante and then looking at me confidently. "He may be a bit of a wild one, but you two are obviously an item. I saw the way you looked at each other when you came in tonight."

"_And_ you live together, right?" The blonde added.

"What's he like?" the copper headed skinny girl arched her eyebrows at me expectantly. "He's got to be good, right?"

I flushed and sent a pleading look at Lorry, but she responded with the same insatiably curious look the other girls held. "Uh... I don't think I know what you mean," I lied.

"Don't be shy, you can tell us," Lorry said encouragingly, and I felt my face set on fire.

"Lorry!" I said accusingly.

"Don't tell me you haven't done it." Tall Girl said in horror. "What is wrong with you? Is he gay?"

"What? No," I frowned at her.

"Are _you_ gay?"

"Oh, for..." I stopped myself, and tried to gather my composure. "It's because of Mrs. Dalton's programme on the birds and the bees tomorrow, isn't it? That's why you're interrogating me, isn't it?"

"The birds and the bees?" Lorry repeated dumbly.

"Yeah, you know, the flowers and the trees," I said impatiently, and glared at them angrily. "What Dante and I do, and don't do, is none of your business."

"You've _done It,_" Copper Head hissed with wide eyes.

"What? No-" I started, but my words were cut down by their indecent and shameful questions.

"Is he good?"

"What was it like?"

And, to my horror, "Did you tape it?"

"Are you insane?" I interrupted and flew to my feet. "Get a hobby or something, you perves!"

"Is there a problem here?"

I whirled around to come face to face with Dante. I grabbed my drink and stumbled past him with a faint 'catch you later'. My entire body was prickling with embarrassment as I weaved through the crowd. Relief claimed me when I spotted Roman lounging by the bar, and I made my way over to him.

"Hey!"

"Need a refill?" Roman asked, eyeing my drink doubtfully.

"Nah, was looking for you," I lied, thankful the bad lighting hid my burning cheeks. I turned around and saw Dante struggling to dislodge himself from the girls at the booth. He was aiming toward me. "Have you seen Van?"

"He's out back. You know." Roman said disapprovingly. "You're not going to join him, are you?"

"Uh..." I trailed off when Dante streaked across the floor like a bat out of hell. I bit my lip when he leaned against the bar counter beside me and put down another order for a beer.

"Interesting rumours going around," Dante muttered. "Don't you think?"

I shrugged, not trusting myself to speak. Did they flame him with their nosy questions, too? I glanced at him nervously, and found his gaze locked on something else amid the writhing mob of bodies. I tried to follow the direction of his eyes, and felt icy claws dig into my back when I finally spotted what was holding his attention.

One of the revered beauties that worked at the club. Her motions were flirtatious, tempting, inviting, and she was looking right back at Dante across the room. I blinked, and looked at Dante uncertainly. He was smiling in response – a very weird, pleasant smile that I didn't recognize. He made a slight gesture with his hand, acknowledging the invitation. And accepting it, I realized when he took a swig of his beer and smacked his lips together.

"I'll be with you in a minute."

"_Dante,_ you jerk! I'm _right here!_" I exploded, but he was already making his way toward the curvaceous figure. I was fuming helplessly as I watched him disappear behind the girl through one of the doors toward the VIP lounge. "Fuck!"

"Why do you let him play you like that?" Roman asked.

"Shut up," I said heatedly. "Where did you say Van went?"

"Out back with the others. But, Cora, listen..."

I brushed past a group of guys and headed for the backdoor without waiting for Roman to start his lecture. I knew it wasn't a good idea to hang out with dope heads, because Dante didn't like it. But really, right that moment, I couldn't give a damn.

Van was slumped behind a couple of trash cans in the back alley, along with his wasted friends. I only spotted them because of the little red glowing dots, and the smell of smoking weed that gave their position away. It was nearly pitch black out there. I sank down beside Van silently, and shook my head when one of his friends offered me a joint.

"Who pissed in your cornflakes?" Van asked, drawing on his own.

"I'll give you one guess," I muttered, and hugged my knees to my chest. "It's cold out here."

"It is?"Van asked, looking around stupidly. "I don't feel it."

"How many have you smoked tonight?" I asked.

"Ah...couple. A few. Don't really keep count."

I shifted uncomfortably and pressed my head against my knees. "Van, you need to cut down on those things."

"Here. Have one. It'll make things okay. Come on, you know you want it," Van waved a joint under my nose, and I leaned away from him with a frown.

"Van..."

"Cora." Van said in a playfully chiding tone. "Just one. No one has to know, right?"

I opened my mouth and was about to push his insistent hand away when a voice behind me struck through the dazed laughter like a streak of lightning.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

I barely had time to turn my head before I was roughly yanked to my feet and propelled through the door back into the club. Our loud and unexpected entrance had several heads turn to stare. I wrenched myself out of Dante's angry grasp and nearly knocked another girl over.

"I wasn't-"

"Cora, you _promised,_" Dante snarled back at me furiously. More people stopped what they were doing to watch us. "I turn my back for two minutes and you're already back in the habit of smoking it up? What's the deal?"

"I-"

"I trusted you would be smart enough to stay away from that crap," Dante carried on relentlessly. "Just wait until we get home. Get your stuff, we're leaving."

I went rigid and folded my arms across my chest when a volcano of red hot fury erupted inside of me. "_Excuse me?_ You've got a lot of nerve to talk about trust! How was she, Dante?" I shouted, gesturing in the general direction of the VIP lounge.

Dante looked bewildered for a second, and then a cocky smile spread across his lips. That's what finally made me snap.

"You think that's funny? What, do I have stupid stamped on my forehead or something? I know what you did back there!" I snapped.

"Oh, do you now?" Dante said curiously.

"It doesn't take a genius to put two and two together!"

"Look, I know you're upset. We'll talk about this when we get home, okay?"

"I'm not going home with you!"

Dante's smile faded into an irritated scowl. "I didn't cheat on you, damn it. I know what it looked like but it wasn't, and you ought to know that better than anyone here!"

"I saw you with my own eyes," I burst out. "Stop taking my intellect for granted, and don't lie to try cover up your tracks."

"I'm not lying..."

"Then you're saying I am?" I snapped, and watched him sink down onto one of the bar stools in hopeless defeat. I didn't care that everyone was watching the spectacle, I was barely aware of anyone else around us. I was too mad, and too hurt, to take notice of anything else but Dante. I wanted to see just a fraction of the pain I was feeling on his face. Just a fraction, and that would be justice served.

"Well?" I demanded when Dante pressed his fingers to his temples. "You're not going to get out of this. You can't expect that your lies will hide the messes you make, you know like lying about Sparda being dead."

"Sparda _is_ dead," Dante said sombrely, and sent a cool assessing look at the kids around us.

"Bullshit. He didn't die, he walked out on you," I said.

Dante went stiff and silent, but I carried on. "Maybe he had another squeeze. Maybe he decided good old Eva was just too sweet and good, and he wanted something on the rougher darker side. Hey, you never know, maybe _cheating_ runs in the family."

Dante twitched, and brandished two large pistols in his hands. He tipped his chair back against the bar, and leaned his outspread arms on the counter behind him. Ebony and Ivory gleamed back at me in the flashing lights. There was an edge behind the act when he tilted one of the barrels straight at me.

"Are you done?" He growled softly.

"_We_ are done," I retorted, sending the gun a wary frown before spinning around and bursting into the alley through the backdoor.

Remove myself from the situation.  
Eva was forever telling me that when I was faced with a potentially problematic circumstance. Get out and get away before things spiral out of my control.  
I should have heeded that advice before the fight of epic proportion erupted in the nightclub behind me. It was a personal attack, and words hurt far deeper when you know exactly what you shouldn't say. I never should have brought Sparda into the fight, because the result was a total fuckup.

Dante had always been too physical to deal with things. That's why he was so great at sports, it helped him channel that energy. He handled everything from a small mechanical problem to – as I came to realize tonight – people, with a scarily violent approach. So what if he didn't shoot me. He pulled a gun on me. The girl he was supposedly madly in love with. There was no doubt that he was seriously pissed off. I should have walked away before things got out of hand. I should have gone home the second I felt I was going to lose my cool with him.

Family was a touchy subject – yanking that chain was begging Dante to sign my death certificate. The fact that half the school population witnessed the fight didn't help much. By tomorrow afternoon, the entire town will know about the legitimacy behind Sparda's absence. Eva will come to hear of it... I should have _thought_ before shooting my mouth off.

I bolted deeper into the alley in the hopes that Dante would think I ran home instead of toward a dead end. There was no doubt in my mind that he was going to chase after me. Maybe this way I could throw him off my trail, just for a little while.

Van and his friends had filed into the club behind me earlier, and the faint red coals of their abandoned pastime were left behind on the dirty tar when I passed the cluster of rubbish tins. I came up short against the solid wall at the end of the alley, and waited edgily in the silent dark.

As if on cue, the backdoor of the club flew open and banged into the wall, nearly dropping off its hinges. I tensed and held my breath, watching Dante pause and glare up and down the alley. We were too passionate. Was that it? It seemed when things were good, things were heavenly good – and when things were bad, it was like hell unleashed. Extremes in both cases. But I'd always known it would be a bad idea to be more than friends, didn't I?

"Where are you?"

I didn't know whether I wanted to run screaming or collapse in tears. Lucky, my body was just about paralysed in fear and I didn't give away my position in the dark.

"If I have to come find you, I'm going to wring your neck, Cora. Come out! I know you're here somewhere," Dante barked furiously. He walked toward the end of the alley and looked up and down the main street before taking off to the left.

I sank down in the corner in relief. I didn't move until I heard his bike start up and the roar of the engine faded into the distance. We needed a serious time out, and I needed to get home.

I hailed a cab over and ducked low in the backseat when we drove past Dante. Fortunately he turned down another street – if he had been going straight home, he would have known I was in the car. I bolted into the house once the cab pulled to a halt outside on the sidewalk, and clumsily fished for a few dollar bills in the cookie jar before going outside and thrusting it in the driver's face with a quick goodbye.

The time was just past ten. We hadn't been gone for even an hour. It was with a heavy, oppressive swelling in my chest that I went upstairs and walked past the study. Eva was in a silk robe, seated at the desk like a goddess in blood red, and Vergil was bent over a book on the desk beside her. They were in deep conversation but fell silent. Both of them looked startled to see me – they hadn't heard me come inside. Rambo leapt off Eva's lap and bounded up to me, barking happily and jumping up against my legs.

"Did you forget something?" Vergil asked, straightening to his full height behind Eva.

"No," I said, and scooped Rambo into my arms.

"Is Dante with you?" Eva asked. There was something different in her voice, and there was an unnerving glint in her eye.

"No," I repeated, backing up a step. "I'm going to bed. G'night."

"Cora, do you have a moment?" Eva asked uncertainly.

I licked my lips and hovered in the doorway, looking back at them timidly. "What is it?"

"Vergil and I have been discussing... you really should come and sit down, Cora," Eva said gently. "This isn't going to be a quick talk."

"Could it wait for another time?" I said, hugging Rambo so tight that the puppy let out an unhappy howl.

Eva glanced at Vergil uneasily, and I reflexively took another step back when Vergil slowly advanced on me. He stopped halfway across the room and bared a vindictive grin at me. "Of course."

"Cora, are you all right? What happened?" Eva rose to her feet. Her robe whispered across the floor like fiery liquid as she glided over to me.

I backtracked a few more steps and shook my head helplessly. "Nothing. I don't want to talk in front of _him_."

"Then we'll talk privately," Eva said firmly and steered me toward my room. Only, when we were in my room and Eva seated herself on the edge of my bed, I wished I hadn't come home at all.

"Dante and I had a fight and... you're going to hear a lot of rumours through town tomorrow...and I didn't want you to find out that way, so I... I have to tell you before anyone else does," I stammered, and tried to keep down the ball of tears playing its way up my throat. I took a shaky breath, and stared down at my feet.

"What happened?" Eva asked quietly.

"Sparda-" I bit my lip hard, and closed my eyes. Just spit it out. There was no going back. "Sparda didn't die. I mean, I don't know if he's dead or not but..."

"What are you talking about?"

"Remember that day when we were fixing up the charity house? And you forgot one of the curtains and I came home to fetch it? It was the same day Dante came and told you that Sparda had died."

"Yes, I remember it very well," Eva said softly.

"Well, when I got here, Sparda and Dante were fighting. Really fighting, with swords and everything, and... I think Dante caught him when he tried to run off. I mean... he left, Eva. He just... he just left."

There was a long pause before Eva spoke again. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I wasn't supposed to know about it. I mean, Dante was convinced that Sparda wasn't going to come back, so I thought...maybe he was right. And that I'd just make things worse by speaking up. He said he was going to the demon world, to seal off some hell gate or other, I think. He was planning on it for a long time before he actually did it, Eva. Dante wasn't happy about it," I said weakly, and risked a quick glimpse at her.

Her expression was unreadable, but it still shattered me. "I'm sorry."

Eva held her finger to silence me, and took a moment. "Where is Dante?"

"He's out in town looking for me. I don't know exactly where he is," I said and shut up when Eva rose to her feet and simply left the room, closing my door behind her with a quiet click.

To hell with it all. I snatched a handful of cash from my hidden stash, stuffed it into my pockets, and picked up my duffel bag. I put Rambo inside of it – he didn't like it all that much – and secured it to my back before slipping downstairs. I could hear Eva on the phone in the kitchen. I stepped outside and lifted my bike off its stand just as Dante pulled up in the driveway.

"How'd you get home so fast?" Dante snapped, cutting off the engine and swinging long legs off his bike. "And where do you think you're going?"

I licked my lips and forced myself to look at him. "Eva wants to talk to you."

"I figured as much. Get off that thing. You're not leaving me in this mess alone," Dante said.

"You mean the mess _you_ created?" I shot back angrily, and gunned the engine. "You know, none of this would have happened if you hadn't decided to get your mojo on with some other girl right in front of me."

I was backing out the drive when the bike suddenly flew out from underneath me. It skid across the pavement into the mulberry bushes planted along the drive, and arms caught me and steadied me on my feet in the same instant. I stared from my wounded bike up into Dante's face, and struggled in his embrace. It was useless. He half-dragged, half-carried me back into the house, despite my very violent resistance.

He dropped me unceremoniously on the couch in the family den, and snapped his finger in my face warningly. "Don't go anywhere, Cora, or I will hunt you down."

~...~


	19. Ignorance

Vergil joined us in the family den to observe the family feud. He reclined in the single sofa, amusement etched into his features as arctic eyes darted from one face to the other.  
I'd wondered how Dante was planning on getting out of this. I shouldn't have been as surprised as I was at the method he chose. Dante was the epitome of cool, calm and collected when Eva climbed down his throat.

"She's wasted, Mom. I caught her hanging out with Van and his greasy buddies again," was Dante's smooth and reasonable reply when Eva confronted him. "She got mad at me for telling her off about it."

"Cora, is that true?" Eva demanded, her troubled blue eyes turning on me.

"Yes, but I'm not wasted-" I said.

"Shut up. You're drunk, _and_ you're stoned," Dante interjected. "I don't know where she gets all this crap about dad from. She was yelling something about him before she left the club, too."

"Cora," Eva said, and the disappointment in her voice nearly killed me.

"Eva, I wouldn't make up stories-"

"Zip it," Dante snapped.

"Now," Eva said, shaking her head feebly. "The both of you, just calm down. What exactly happened tonight?"

"Dante cheated on me," I blurted out, and gave in to the tears that had been beckoning all evening.

"I did _not,_" Dante said resentfully.

"Don't start with me again. I saw you go into the VIP lounge. Only bad things happen in the VIP lounge!" I said, scrambling off the couch. I felt very vulnerable in front of them. I wanted to grab Dante's coat and yank it over me to hide from everyone.

Eva's frustrated frown moved from me to Dante.  
"Dante," she said quietly. "What did you do?"

Dante was giving me a real death glare. He wanted to rip me apart, I could see it in his eyes, in the way he clenched his fists at his sides. He was really, really mad.

"What I did is no excuse for you to go and smoke it up," Dante said flatly. "You promised you would stop that sh-stuff." Dante corrected himself, eyes flicking to Eva quickly before meeting mine.

"I wasn't smoking anything. I didn't even touch it!" I sobbed back. "Don't make this about me. _You_ are the one at fault here."

I winced when Eva grabbed hold of my chin and scrutinized my face. Her grip relaxed after a moment. "Did you smoke anything? Did you take any drugs?"

I shook my head and rubbed my chin when she finally let go. She had a pretty firm grip for those small hands. "I told Van no. I didn't do anything wrong, I swear."

"Cora has no reason to lie to me, especially not where it concerns your father, Dante. I want you to tell me what really happened."

"I didn't cheat, Mom. It was a succubus – she was making eyes at me since I stepped into the club," Dante smoothly veered off the topic of Sparda, and to my disbelief no one else picked up on it. Eva's fair complexion paled considerably at his words, and I lost my rag.

"Oh, that's funny! What did she suck, Dante?" I almost screamed at him.

"Cora," Eva said, mortified. "Watch your tongue."

"You impudent fool," Vergil added in revulsion.

Dante's eyes flit from Vergil to Eva, and a brash smile rolled over his lips. "She sucked the bullets right out of my barrel," Dante said casually.

"Dante!" Eva exclaimed.

"Well, it did," Dante said with a childish pout. He burst into wild, mischievous laughter, and staggered back when I aimed an angry kick at him.

"A succubus," Vergil intervened and caught hold of my foot before it could make contact with Dante's gut, "is a demon."

I blinked furiously to see through my tears, keeping my balance, and stared back at Vergil nonplussed. "A demon?" I repeated blankly, and felt reality smack me in the back of the head. "Oh."

The awkward silence that followed was disrupted by Dante's uncontrollable sniggering. He'd crashed down on the couch and was folded double with laughter. Eva smoothed her hair back, flustered at his reaction, and stared at me for a long, long time.

"You can let go of my leg now," I said weakly, looking at Vergil.

He didn't. Instead, he turned cryptic cold eyes on Eva. "Shall I enlighten Cora on the difference between human and demon?"

Eva met his gaze, and I felt a chill in my core when she nodded. "Yes, Vergil. I believe that is a good idea."

"But-" I started helplessly.

"I can teach her," Dante objected, his laughter diminishing quickly.

"You are not going anywhere until we've cleared up some inconsistencies," Eva chastised him sternly.

Vergil finally dropped my leg and I steadied myself, taking a wary step away from him. "But Eva..."

"Go. Now. Dante and I have much to discuss," Eva ordered.

Dante melted back into the couch powerlessly, but his eyes were piercing when Vergil pressed his fingers against the small of my spine and steered me firmly from the room.  
I left my bag at the front door, and miserably accepted the doomed deed that lay ahead.

We walked past the bikes in the drive – mine was still laying where Dante had kicked it – and headed in the direction of demonville. When I forced a glimpse at Vergil, a dominant smile twisted the corners of his lips.

"I've underestimated how stubborn you could be," Vergil said in response to my glare. "But I have always known you would comply, sooner or later."

"I'm not complying to anything," I said. "I'm not doing what you want me to. You might as well give up the effort and just kill me now."

"Tempting, but that will have to wait until I'm done with you."

"Is that all you ever think about? Death, and destruction, and power?" I snapped. "You need to get a girlfriend, Vergil."

Vergil gave a short chuckle and glowered down at me. "I am not like my brother. I have no need to waste my time with petty matters. A human lifestyle is not destined for us. Sparda integrated that reality into us from birth, but Dante has always been one to go against the grain. He'll try, but it's not the fate of devils to live happily ever after."

"You're very bitter, and spiteful. You're worse than Sparda, you know that?"

"And Dante is childishly perverse and obstinate in his ways," Vergil agreed furtively. "We're devils by blood, you can't expect us to conform to human ethics. What necessarily applies to our mother and everyone else, does not apply to us."

"You know the old adage, when in Rome do as the Romans do, don't you?" I said.

"You're not listening. Those are _human_ beliefs. Dante and I are above and beyond those pitiful standards," Vergil said.

I quietened down and glared at the dark road ahead of us. I tried to predict how he was going to kill me. It was strange that I wasn't freaking out about it. But then, what point would that serve but to provoke his temper? Maybe he'll torture me first, in the hopes that the pain will make me yield to him. Cut off my hand again, or my arm – or maybe he'll slowly skin me alive? Or, he might just chop off my head. Would my head grow back like my hand did?

"He knows you're demon," Vergil interrupted my morbid thoughts.

"Did he say so?" I asked.

"No. But he knows," Vergil said and gave a slow, amused chuckle. "Rambo confirmed it."

I pursed my lips and gave him a look that voiced my silent doubts of his sanity. "My puppy told him I'm half demon?"

"Don't fool yourself, Cora. You're not half demon. You're not like us," Vergil said, offended. "The transformation may take several years before it's complete, _if_ I let you live that long."

I fought down searing bile and looked away from him. "You mean I'm still changing?"

"You'll become a full blooded demon, yes. It is ironic, don't you think? The love of his life shifting into the one thing we were raised to destroy," Vergil said.

I stiffened when his hand rested on my shoulder. Vergil nodded, and I felt the spears of doom penetrate me from all sides when my eyes adjusted to the darkness.

The vast landscape looked like some bizarre picture of hell painted by a mentally sick impressionist. Demons of every breed, shape, and colour swarmed the flat desolate terrains. Some of the lesser demons I recognized, like the packs of different Scarecrows with their slightly mad laughter and rickety patchwork bodies. There were Chimera Seeds crawling in between the packs with long skeletal limbs stretching and heads bobbing, and there were so many Mephisto demons in the air that they blacked out all the stars. Colourful Marionettes blundered through other groups of demons, brandishing blades and scythes clumsily.

Some demons were unfamiliar and frightening, like the ones adorned with sharp icicles and tails that seemed to protrude from the back of their heads, and other lizard-like monstrosities leaping around with shields. I tried to recall the demon that had scratched me and infected me all those years ago, to maybe prepare myself for what I was going to morph into in time.  
Memory failed to disclose anything but the vision of my dad's detached arm, the haunting echo of gunshots, and fierce blue eyes blinking back at me from a blood drenched boy. Everything else was just a big foggy blur.

"We will begin with the less intellectual demons, to go easy on my brother. I don't want the entire town ruined in one night," Vergil said, and stepped in front of me with serene ease. "Go on then, what are you waiting for?"

"What would you do if I said no?" I asked. My voice quivered, but I didn't care.

It didn't matter that he could see how scared I was. Nothing mattered anymore, because the truth was blinding, and painful, and eradicated any crumb of pride I had left. I was alone, and I would always be alone. Vergil was right. When I would transform – and it was clear from Vergil's confident observation that I definitely was going to – Dante would kill me. Loved or not, a demon is a demon. What was worse than that was Vergil's theory suddenly made an awful lot of sense.

There would be no happy ending for me and Dante.

"What would I do?" Vergil repeated, and slid his hands slickly into the pockets of his pants. He struck a casual pose and tilted his head to the side, watching me curiously. "Do you really want to know?"

"Are you going to kill me?" I asked, too afraid to look away from his deadly gaze. Every inch of me was tensed to either hit him or run if he came any closer.

"That would be convenient for you, wouldn't it?" Vergil said with a faint scowl. "I told you before, Cora. I won't kill you until you've served my purpose. That is, if I am the one to slay you."

"You can torture me all you want. I won't hurt anyone, I don't care what..." I said bravely.

"I will gag you, bind you, and leave you with company," Vergil interrupted in bored tones with a gesture toward the demon hordes. "And when they are done hacking into you, and devouring pieces of your flesh, I will resurrect you, mend you, and do it all again."

I stared back at him in shocked terror. When he sighed and advanced toward me, my legs nearly gave way beneath me.

"Get a move on. _Now_."

I turned to face the roaming demons, drew a shallow, trembling breath – and obeyed.

**~...~**


	20. Shot Down in Flames

When we finally got home in the newborn hours of morning, the house was quiet and dark. Vergil hadn't spoken another word to me. I'd thrown the occasional insult at him on our way home, but it bounced right off him. He ascended the dim staircase with me, and I skipped forward to lean against Dante's door. I pressed my ear to it, turned the doorknob, and carefully pushed the door open ajar.

"Dante?" I whispered. "I'm home."

I tensed when Vergil pushed the door open wider, and brushed past me into the room. "Are you awake?" He asked flatly.

"Go away," Dante's tone matched his brothers'.

"You heard him," Vergil said, and shoved me into the hallway before closing the door in my face.

"Jerk," I breathed. I lingered outside the door a little while longer, trying to make out what was being said. Their voices were muffled, monotonous, almost without emotion. I gave up trying to distinguish words and went back downstairs.

Armed with hot malt drink and nutty chocolate bar, I dropped myself on a couch in the family den and hoped the silent infomercials on television would make me fall asleep. I froze and sat alert at every little noise outside. Demons would sporadically lumber past in the street outside toward the city, but they paid no attention to the fortress. Of course, they wouldn't, because I told them it was off limits. It was still unnerving, nonetheless.

A blonde man was on the screen, pushing an odd looking vacuum across a dirty carpet with a fake smile on his face, when Eva trailed into the room.  
She sank down into Sparda's leather armchair, almost disappearing between the bulbous armrests. Her eyes were distant, blind to the world around her, looking into another dimension I couldn't see. She tucked the creamy poncho draped over her shoulders tighter around her, and folded her legs beneath her. She gazed at the empty furnace beside her distractedly. There was a forlorn glow about her – it made her look young, and scared, and infinitely sad.

I flicked the chocolate crumbs off my lap and got to my feet. The discussion hadn't gone well, by the looks of it. That wasn't surprising – it _couldn't_ have gone well. I went to sit on the edge of one armrest, leaned over, and wrapped my arms around her. Numbness took hold of me when she quietly started crying. She didn't make any sound except for soft delicate sniffles; her slender frame shook with silent, heartbroken sobs, and her tears soaked into my shoulder. Her one arm lifted and grabbed hold of mine, and she clung to me feebly. It crushed me to see her so hurt.

She cried for a long time. I eventually squeezed into the gap on the seat beside her to get more comfortable, and held her in a tight hug. I didn't withdraw my arms from her until she pushed herself away from me with a weak hiccup. She wiped at her tears with a small hand, and kept her eyes closed.

"I'm sorry..."

"No, I'm sorry," I interrupted her, and fought down my own tears when she looked at me through swollen eyes.  
She pursed her lips together, made a slight nod with her head, and rose to her feet without a word. She solemnly glided from the room, and once she was gone I stared at the sunlight pooling into the den through the bay windows.

I climbed to my feet when the old grandfather clock chimed a reminder at me that I was very good and late for school. I went upstairs in search of Dante, but his room was empty. A glance out the window told me he'd taken off with his bike.

Confused, and maybe slightly insane, I went looking for Vergil and found him stretched out in his bed, fast asleep. I studied him for a minute, watching his chest rise and fall beneath the cold coloured duvet, silvery blonde hair messy – looking every inch the perfect picture of a royal angel. I hated him even more that moment for having the same face as Dante.

I gave the foot of his bed a good hard kick. The headboard thumped into the wall, and his eyes shot open to stare at the ceiling before darting to me in apprehension. "Get out."

"Where's Dante? Why didn't I hear or see him leave?" I shot back coldly.

"I don't know. Get out of my room before I kill you."

"Asshole," I said, and gave his bed another kick for good measure before slamming his door shut behind me.

Going to look for Dante was out of the question. He could be anywhere. For all I knew, he probably wasn't even in Metropolis anymore. I dressed for school and pitched up in time to catch the traffic rush of changing classes. I resolved to report Dante as missing to the authorities after school, if he wasn't home by then. They could track down his bike's license plate, find him so much faster than I would. If Eva had been mad enough to kick Dante out of the house, chances were I'd never lay eyes on him again. Simply because Dante was Dante – he wouldn't come back like Vergil had. He'd stay away.

My throat pulled tight at this thought when I stepped into Mrs. Dalton's class and sauntered toward my seat in the back of the class. I sank down behind my desk and stared at the blackboard in front miserably. The white screen mounted above the board was unrolled, and a running projector with a wheezing fan cast a note across the white canvas, _Sexual Intercourse Education as prescribed by the Ministry of Education Board._

Mrs. Dalton was shutting the blinds along the windows, dumping the classroom into shadow until the only light was from the screen. Students settled into their seats, their nervous and giddy twitter dying down fast at the stern look on the older woman's face. I shifted uneasily in my seat, and resigned myself to glaring holes into my desk.

The film started rolling once the room hushed completely, and I watched bits and pieces of 'safety first' guidelines and the hundreds of possible STD's that could be contracted. Mostly I just stared at my hand in the dimness, or blindly glanced at the boring green blinds hiding the windows, wishing I was out there with Dante instead of stuck in class. I hoped he was all right, but given the state Eva had been in...

Above the informative voice emanating through the projector speakers, droning on about the stats for teen pregnancies in the past two years, a steady growl sounded up somewhere outside the class. A familiar sound. I straightened up in my seat, listening closely. The growl subsided into a purr, and then it cut off completely. I stared at the door for a long moment, undecided whether to get up and go see if I was imagining hearing motorbikes, or just staying put and waiting until after class.

As it turned out, I didn't have to do either. The door opened, and a silvery blonde head appeared. The door closed again with a quiet click, and then Dante was sliding into his seat beside me. He flashed me a small smile, and turned his eyes to the front of the classroom. He leaned across the aisle toward me.

"Did I miss the fun stuff?" he whispered jokingly.

"What are you doing here?" I responded, a bit too loudly. Mrs. Dalton sent a sharp glance our way, and I gestured a silent apology back at her, cringing.

"Like I would pass this up?" Dante said with a playful wink at me, completely ignoring the teacher.

I stared back at him in confusion, and clenched my jaw. "Where were you?" I whispered back.

"Take a guess," Dante said, and frowned at me worriedly. "What's wrong with you?"

"What happened last night?"

"Not much," Dante shrugged, his eyes wandering across the classroom before he turned in his seat to face me squarely. "My mom wanted to know why I didn't tell her what happened, and I told her the truth. That I only meant to protect her. She understands."

"That's it?" I asked sceptically.

"Yeah," Dante said.

"Where did you go then? Why are you late for class?"

"I was busting my ass doing my job," Dante said, cocking an eyebrow at me. "What else would I be out doing all night? Cheating?"

"Shut up," I hissed back, annoyance flaring up in me. "It was an honest mistake."

"You were making too many mistakes yesterday, Cora."

"Shut up. You're an idiot," I spat at him, and added in a cold voice, "And your brother is insane."

A brief chuckle replied to my accusation, and Dante straightened up in his seat, turning to face the front of the class with a shake of his head.

I watched him from the corner of my eye for a few minutes. I wouldn't fight with him, I _wouldn't_... My determination not to faltered at my curiosity and I leaned across to him. "What did you two talk about when I got back last night?"

"Me and Verge? Family stuff," Dante said vaguely.

"I thought I was family, too," I said.

"It's a twin thing, Cora. You won't get it," Dante said, and gave me a curious look. "Why do you want to know anyway?"

"He's _crazy_, Dante. You won't believe the stuff he's done... the stuff he _said_..."

"My brother is not insane," Dante interrupted flatly.

"Yeah? He told me that my friggin' puppy told you I'm a demon – tell me _that's_ not crazy," I said.

Dante looked startled and stared back at me for a second, nonplussed. "Which part?"

"Are you kidding?" I asked, feeling my heart crash to my toes, and my stomach twisted uneasily.

Dante licked his lips, an uncharacteristically troubled look swathing his features. He leaned closer to me, until our faces were inches apart. "You said you have the power to control demons."

"Yeah," I said, and frowned worriedly. "So?"

"Without using the dark arts. You're doing it. _You,_ Cora, not some outside force."

"Yeah," I repeated feebly. "I told you that before, you nut."

I flinched when Dante's gaze dropped and he wrapped his hand around mine. I looked down, and watched him trace the faint pink scars up my arm with his fingertips.

"Because of this," Dante said quietly, and his eyes were intense when we looked at one another.

My mouth went dry, and my mind frantically scrambled for something, _anything_, to divert the conversation. Part of me expected him to rip out one of his guns and blow a hole through my head, right then and there.

"Wh-what's this got to do with Rambo?" I stammered out.

Dante stopped tracing the scars on my arm, and cupped my hand in both of his instead. His palms were warm and firm against my fingers. He was going to break my hand... or crush my fingers...  
I watched in paralyzed fear when he lifted my hand to his mouth, and for one crazy second I believed he was going to _bite_ me.

He pressed his lips to my knuckles, and his breath washed over my hand in a wave of warmth. I stared at him, entranced, and felt hot tears slam into me from out of nowhere when his troubled gaze met mine steadily. He looked remorseful, and there was a cracked look in his icy blue eyes that reminded me of the heartbreak I'd seen in Eva that morning.

"He's a hellhound, Cora," Dante finally said, his lips brushing against my skin when he spoke.

And it all made sudden, awful sense – why Eva and I couldn't figure out what breed Rambo was, why Dante had been so adamant on killing the puppy, why Vergil had thought it was the joke of the century.

"It's a demon," Dante added in a whisper, and he tore his gaze from mine abruptly to glance at the screen. But he wasn't quick enough – I saw the flash through their cold depths, the unspoken words lingering in that split second, _and so are you_.

My blood turned to ice and my heart stopped beating for a moment. He knew what I knew. I stared at his profile, outlined by the pale light emanating from the front of the room. My heart squeezed back to life, and every beat felt heavy and painful. It wasn't fair. Damn it, it wasn't _fair_ that this would happen to us! ..._It's not the fate of devils to live happily ever after..._ Vergil's voice snarled through my head.

I lost the fight against containing my tears, and I tried to withdraw my hand from Dante's grasp. He ought to just finish me off now, put a bullet in me and end it before either of us could really feel the severity of being deprived of something as rare and pure as love...

Dante's hands tightened around mine, and he looked at me. The expression in his eyes told me he wouldn't stop us from going on. Vergil was right – Dante was an idiot. Allowing sentiments to get in the way of his purpose, delaying the inevitable. He was as much an idealist in his own way, just as Sparda had been. If anyone was going to put us out of this misery, it would have to be me.

I reached impulsively toward him with my other arm, closing any proximity there had been between us, and ran my hand along his side. I could feel toned muscles beneath the material of his shirt as I felt my way across to his back. The second my fingers found the cool metal it was looking for, he kissed me.

Little dazzling displays of heated fireworks went off in my head. The cold inside of me dissipated and my blood started pumping fire through my veins. It felt like his lips were tugging my heart toward heaven, filling me with instant, breathless euphoria that eradicated all thought from my mind.

"Exactly what do you think you're doing?"

Mrs. Dalton's voice was like a lightning bolt ripping us apart. My fingers slipped away from the metal of one of Dante's guns, reminding me what I had been about to do. I slumped back in my seat, startled, and blinked dazedly at the teacher. Several of the other students were glancing toward us, smirking, shaking their heads, mocking.

"Get a room!" One of the jocks called out, sending the class into a fit of laughter.

I felt my already flushed cheeks turn bright red, and I hunched my shoulders together, trying to make myself small in my seat. I risked an embarrassed glance at Dante. He didn't look flustered in the least – only the opposite. He had that cocky grin on his face, and was looking back at the football player challengingly.

"What's the matter, Thompson? Jealous I'm going to get some before you do?" Dante retorted.

"You...!" Thompson flew out of his seat, his face flushing with sudden anger.

"Bring it on, juice boy!" Dante said, lazily rising to his feet.

"That is quite enough!" Mrs. Dalton snapped, spreading her arms to keep both boys at bay. Like a referee in a fighting match.

"C'mon, you prick!" Dante called when Thompson backed away a step. "You're always on about what a tough guy you are. How about you stop spraying bullshit and step up to the plate for a change?"

"Dante, stop it!" I hissed, alarmed when Thompson tried to charge him past the teacher.

"That's it, I'm going to pulverize you!" Thompson raged, pressing his brawny body past the teacher.

The other students were out of their seats, the girls backing away, the boys circling in closer to get a good view.

"Get him!"

"Knock his head off!"

"Floor him!"

I didn't know who was rooting for who. Mrs. Dalton's shrill, strict orders were lost among the shouts as she was nudged to the back of the crowd. Dante dodged Thompson's fist easily, the arrogant smirk on his face deepening.

"Is that all you've got?" Dante countered, and was answered with an uppercut that jerked his head right back. The sound of the impact snapped through the room like a firecracker, but surprisingly Dante didn't go down. He didn't even move from his stance. He lowered his head, spat a gunk of blood onto the floor, and wiped his chin across the back of his sleeve.

"That's it? My mom hits better than you," Dante taunted, and tackled the bigger boy to the floor. Desks went crashing and students scattered out of the way. Chaos erupted; cheers of encouragement filled the classroom, and shouts for help echoed faintly outside down the hallway.

I didn't know what the hell Dante thought he was doing, but my anger at his antics to show off fizzled out quick. Thompson was on top of him, ramming his fist into Dante's face again and again – and Dante did nothing. He didn't fight back, even though I knew he could throw the other guy across the room without much effort. He didn't even try to block the blows. The thought that Dante must be unconscious is what spurred me on to cling to Thompson's enormous, muscular arm in an attempt to stop him.

"Get off! Get off him!" I shrieked, knowing I was playing the role of the annoying, pathetic girl who screamed her little head off with no results, but not being able to help myself. I tried to shove Thompson, but only succeeded in shifting him a little. He shook me off like I was nothing, and I staggered into a desk behind me before throwing myself at him again. "Stop it! Somebody help me, damn it!"

"He was asking for it, Cora."

"Get away from him before you hurt yourself."

"Cora, move!"

I barely heard their cries. Tears were streaming down my cheeks now, and I was tugging at Thompson with reckless vigour. I didn't care if he turned around and punched me, all that mattered was getting him away from Dante. Someone shouted that the principle was on the way, and Thompson climbed to his feet, pulling Dante up with him.

"Come on, you little shit. You've been asking for a beating for a long time," Thompson snarled.

Dante wasn't unconscious like I'd thought. He was wide awake, his eyes sharp and alert, his face bloody and swollen. He stumbled when Thompson shoved him toward the emergency exit of the classroom. I got caught up in the back of the crowd as kids swarmed out onto the concrete slab where mass was held every morning. The fight had started up again; it wasn't the crowd's shouts that told me this, but the sound of flesh connecting with flesh. Painful blows. I could almost feel the hits myself.

"Cora! _Cora_, you've got to stay inside! He can take care of himself..." Lorry was yanking at me. I barely saw her.

"He's got a gun!" Someone screamed, and then genuine fear hushed the raunchy students, scattering the crowd and widening the space around the two fighting boys.

My first thought was that Dante was going to be expelled from school because of this. A gunshot barked through the air. Then I broke through the mass of bodies, stumbled across the ground outside and froze mid-stride on my rush toward Dante.

He was shaking his head, wiping blood off the side of his face. He was on the ground, trying to sit up. My mouth opened to shout at him not to kill the stupid jock, when another gunshot ricocheted around me, and Dante was slammed flat back onto the ground. Wine red blossomed through his shirt. My heart dropped, and I spun around to stare at the little silver pistol Thompson was holding in a trembling, beefy hand.

"Somebody had to put you in your place. It was about time you joined your dad anyway," Thompson growled, taking slow, unsteady steps closer. He'd lost his mind. He was acting on sheer fear. There was no anger in his words or his face, nothing but fear. His eyes were round, his breath hissing in and out as if he'd run a marathon.

"No! _No!_" I wanted to scream, but the words came out a wheezing whisper. This couldn't be happening...

Dante rolled onto his side and coughed up a puddle of blood, clenching a hand across his gut. "Ugh...damn it..." He choked out, and then I was beside him, helping him sit up.

"Somebody call the police!" I shrieked in a faint voice, and looked toward Thompson. He was still edging closer, and now his gun was pointed at both of us. His eyes were bulging and wild in his head. I felt around Dante's back, and ripped Ebony from its holster. I aimed it right back at Thompson; in comparison, his gun looked like a kid's toy next to Ebony's long, thick black barrel.

"Back off or I'll shoot, I swear!" I screamed at him. The same insane fear driving Thompson was now controlling me. It was kill or be killed; do or die. The thought didn't even have chance to complete itself in my head before several shots went off. I cringed and dropped Ebony reflexively, waiting for the searing pain of being riddled with metal bullets. It didn't come. The second the shots filled the air, something bright and blue streaked out of nowhere and formed a shield in front of us.

I stared at Vergil's back for a puzzled moment when he didn't drop to the ground. Then he turned around and looked down at us with that peculiar, haughty expression of his. He was sheathing Yamato with graceful ease, and then he crouched down in front of us. His eyes were so cold and filled with so much disgust, it chilled the air around us.

He got hold of Dante's arm just above the elbow. "Let's go home," Vergil said, and hauled his brother to his feet in one swift move.

Dante stood hunched over for a minute, immobile, and then I realized he was staring at the ground. I climbed to my feet and gingerly pulled his one arm around my shoulders to help support his weight, and followed his gaze. Little pieces of metal lay scattered on the ground before us. When I looked at Thompson, he was unarmed, white in the face, and trembling violently. His pistol lay at his feet, sliced into three pieces – useless, harmless.

"Can you walk, Dante?" Vergil asked.

"Yeah... think so..." Dante said weakly. I glanced at him sharply, and saw his face was nearly as white as Thompson's. I'd never seen Dante weak before, or injured to this extent. I always thought it would scare me if he got beaten down, but I felt no fear. There was only revulsion, and scorching hatred, and overwhelming rage for the person who had hurt him.

I caught Vergil's eye past Dante's bent head, and narrowed my eyes at him before sending a dagger look at Thompson. I started moving Dante toward the school parking lot, but paused when he sent a sharp glance to his side.

"Vergil," Dante hissed. It hurt him to talk, to move, probably even just breathing hurt him.

I glanced over my shoulder. Vergil was still standing where we'd left him, only now he was facing Thompson. I watched him tensely.

"_Vergil_," Dante repeated almost angrily, and pain bled into his voice.

Vergil lifted his chin, and spat at Thompson. He actually spat – it reminded me of my mom when she used to spit at the ground when the word 'demon' was uttered in her presence. A sign of pure disrespect, of loathing. Worse than a slap in someone's face.

Then Vergil was on Dante's other side, helping support him, and we started for the parking lot once again.

"Damn humans," Vergil ground out.

"I didn't think getting shot would hurt this much," Dante breathed.

"Of course not," Vergil said coldly.

"Hey, relax. I'll bounce back."

"Shut up," Vergil said in barely restrained rage.

Dante obeyed, if only because he didn't seem to have the strength to choke out another witty response. Vergil had come on his bike, and Dante went with him. I got onto my own ride and stuck to his side through the busy streets.  
I pulled into the drive behind them when we reached the Sparda fortress, and was already off my bike and next to them by the time Vergil cut off his engine.

"Dante?" Vergil asked when I grabbed Dante's head. He was slumped forward, and his head was rolling limply on his shoulders.

"He's passed out," I said, standing buffer against the bike to keep Dante from toppling right off.

"Hold him so I can get off," Vergil said, and I glared at him heatedly.

"Don't be stupid, he's too heavy. I'm not strong enough to keep him up."

"Just keep him steady. For fucks' sake, Cora, it'll only take me a second," Vergil's eyes flashed back at me dangerously.

"Fine, Mr. Know-It-All," I retorted, and draped my arms around Dante. The second Vergil started to scoot away, Dante's limp body sagged in the opposite direction and I clung to him in alarm. "Vergil!"

"Oh, for..." Vergil muttered, shifting back behind his brother and straightening him from falling off. He pressed his forehead into Dante's back, and let out a long suffering sigh.

"We need a different plan of action to get him inside," I said, and frowned at him angrily when he gave no sign that he'd heard me. "Your sulking isn't helping much, dumbass."

"Go to hell," Vergil said and gave me a death glare, before hollering at the top of his voice, "Mom!"

He had surprising volume. I cringed away from him momentarily, startled, and then the front door opened and Eva came skipping outside, alarmed.

"What- oh my... what happened?" Eva demanded, strolling up to us.

"There was a shooting at school," I said, and watched her face distort into wide distress when she saw the bloody mess Dante was.

The three of us managed to carry him inside. We lay him down on the couch in the family den, and the task of dislodging the bullets with a tweezer from Dante's gut and shoulder fell on my shoulders when Eva nearly passed out at the sight of all the blood. Vergil was given the unsettling task of pinning Dante down when he came to once I got the first bullet out. The wound began to heal itself almost immediately, but it was a messy mission trying to get the second bullet out of his gut. Dante writhed like a fish out of water, and he broke Vergil's hold on him twice before the damned little piece of metal finally came free of the deep bed in his flesh.

There was a moment of thankful silence when I dropped the bullet next to the other one on the coffee table. Thankful that Vergil didn't have to fight to keep Dante down, thankful that I finally finished the gory task, thankful that Dante's pain ridden screams had stopped. It was one of the most horrible moments in my life – not as horrible as it had been knowing my family was dead and I was alone in the rubble of what used to be my home, but horrible in its own twisted way.

Dante was sitting up, and Vergil was breathing hard as he slumped back against the wall.

"Damn you, Dante," Vergil said, his voice shaky with rage, and then he bolted from the room.

I watched him rush off, and then looked at Dante quietly.

"I'm sorry," Dante muttered, disgruntled, and peeked at me uncertainly. "I just... I don't know what came over me."

I did. Dante was never the kind of guy who would take a step back and reflect on a situation quietly; he was a hands-on person who didn't know how to express himself without violence. He'd picked a fight with Thompson because he didn't know how else to handle his feelings about me turning demon. Or, at least, that's what I thought it was all about.

"Don't let it happen again," I said quietly, and got up.

He grabbed my hand, and I stopped. "Cora. You know... I won't let anything bad happen to you. You trust me, right?"

It took me a long moment to force myself to look at him. I managed a colourless smile, and kept my voice steady to hide my lie. "Yeah. Yeah, I trust you, Dante."


	21. Love Me, Shoot Me

The faint fear that Dante might die had drained from my mind when Vergil had left the room. I succumbed to the sudden burning urge to distance myself from him – from everyone and everything - and shook him off as gently as I could.

"Where are you going now?" Dante asked, dismayed.

"I'll be with you in a second," I muttered.

"Cora, listen to me..." Dante started, reaching for me again.

I dodged his hand with a sharp, "I'll be right back already!"

His jaw clenched, and the glint in his eye was one of fiery determination. "If I have to chase after you again..."

I darted for the arching doorway that led out into the front parlour before he could finish his threat, and I heard him swear at me as I made my way down the wide hallway to the kitchen.

Eva would have it in for me big time if I left the house after what happened today. You didn't just run out on your family when a traumatic event took place. It wasn't right. But I needed to close myself off from it all, I needed space to breathe – I needed to think. It wasn't that hard to find a secluded place in the house since the Sparda fortress sprawled across acres of land; there were nearly a hundred rooms spread out across the two floors the mansion was composed of.

I picked my way through the backroom off the side of the kitchen, and pushed away the neatly stacked boxes against the cherry wood door on the other side of the room. I opened the door, gritting my teeth at the hinges squealing desperately for oil, and looked down a hallway that seemed to have no end. I sent a glance over my shoulder when I heard someone in the kitchen, and closed the door behind me quietly. I headed into the east wing, which Dante and I had aptly named the Nether Regions, since none of us ever used that part of the house.

The corridor stretched on and curved at a sharp angle to the left up ahead. One side of the corridor was a wall of tall arching windows, looking out over the grassy field of a yard. The other side was lined with door upon door. All of them were locked when I tried the brass handles. The air was stifling here, and an eerie silence saturated the atmosphere.

The lengthy grand hallway ended quite unexpectedly with a pair of tall drawn drapes. When I pulled them apart to peek at what was behind it, I came face to face with a bland solid wall. I dropped the drapes back in place and tried the knob of the last door. Locked, as I expected. I sank down to the floor with my back against the door, and stared blindly out the window across from me.

What was I going to do? I needed to get away from here. Away from Dante. Maybe not right now, but soon I would have to leave this familiar haven and get very, very far away. That was not debatable. What did pose as a potential problem was what I was going to do once I did get away from here.

Jump off a bridge? I had a deep fear of heights. Eat something lethal? I could barely stand the smell of broccoli, much less eat something that smelled and tasted poisonous. Hang myself? Where? How? With what? Overdose on pills? I could barely swallow one painkiller without choking on it. Drown myself in the ocean? How could I do that without my survival instincts kicking in? I didn't know what I was going to do exactly, but one thing was certain – I was going to have to kill myself. There was no choice in the matter. I didn't want to give Vergil the satisfaction of finishing me off. Dante wouldn't hurt me, because if he had any intention of killing me, he would have done it the second he knew I was going to turn. That left me with the very last resort – suicide.

But I'm a coward when it comes to pain. I'd chicken out. I had to find a foolproof method. Something fast and deliberate that will get the job done, whether I changed my mind at the last second or not. I felt my throat swell at the thought, and buried my face against my knees. It was funny how death would be on my mind with my sweet sixteen just around the corner. Visions of me dying in a thousand different ways – jumping in front of a speeding train, shooting myself in the head, injecting myself with some deadly substance to stop my heart beating, each visual with disturbing gore and cruel detail attached – kept me chained from the present so intensely that I didn't realize I was no longer alone until I caught movement from the corner of my eye. I jolted away instinctively and stared at Eva with wide eyes before my heart resumed its beat.

"You looked miles away," Eva said, and gave me a mild smile. "Where'd you go?"

"Uh..." I tried to lick my lips, but my mouth went dry at her question and I could barely squeeze a breath of air past my thick throat. I finally tore my gaze from hers and straightened my legs out in front of me, tracing a pattern with my fingertip on the dusty dark carpet. "Never mind," I finally mumbled.

"Got quite a scare today, didn't we?"

"Yeah," I said, and chanced a quick glance at her. She was gazing out the window across from us, and had pulled her knees up to her chest.

"I understand it must have upset you. Dante will be fine, don't worry."

"Okay," I shrugged.

We sat in silence for a few more moments before Eva spoke again. "You couldn't have known he'd get hurt. Don't blame yourself, Cora."

"Okay," I repeated flatly, lifting my eyebrows sceptically. I fidgeted with my nails, and sighed.

When Eva spoke again, it was in a slightly clipped voice. "I remember the first time Dante got hold of a gun. Sparda had a similar set to the one Dante now has. He was five years old, and he'd been after the plate of cookies in the kitchen." I looked at her, and watched her shake her head slightly. Her hair fell over her shoulder and curtained the side of her face like glowing corn silk. There was a distant and somewhat mournful look on her delicate features. "Sparda always was careless when it came to the boys. He didn't quite grasp the concept of how children's minds work. He left his guns on the counter, and Dante thought it was a toy."

"He hurt himself?" I asked when she didn't go on.

Her eyes were glimmering with derision when she looked at me. "Yes. Yes, he did," she said hesitantly. She let out a quiet sigh. "That's when we discovered the boys inherited a lot more from Sparda than just his looks."

"They don't look anything like Sparda. I always thought they looked like you," I said.

"No. No, Sparda was constantly boasting about how the boys took after him. Handsome little devils. I'm digressing. You shouldn't worry about Dante getting hurt. He's a lot more durable than the fittest human."

"I'm not worried about Dante getting hurt," I said honestly.

Eva shifted onto her knees to face me directly, and her voice was gently prodding. "Vergil came to me recently. He told me what you were trying to hide," she said carefully, and I felt my nerves stiffen. I had to force myself not to look away from her. "I want you to know that it is not your fault. It was an error on my part. I was confident that I got all the venom out of your injuries, but I was wrong. I was too late."

I swallowed hard, and glared at a dark stain on the thick drapes beside me. "Serves me right for stupidly running into an army of demons. I should have died with my family that day, you know."

"Now don't..." Eva said helplessly.

"I'm an abomination. I'm going to turn into a monster and I'm going to hurt people. I'm going to kill innocent people, Eva. Vergil said that Sparda raised him and Dante to kill demons, to protect humans at all costs. So why haven't they killed..." I said heatedly.

"Cora," Eva snapped, grabbing hold of my hands and locking her piercing eyes with mine. Her words were as heated as mine, her voice as intense as the flare of a spark. "I'll find a way to help you. I will go to the ends of the world to find a cure. I won't let you become a monster. _Believe me_, Cora, I will save you."

Her words evoked an inferno of hope inside of me; a fiery flash that ended in a pile of ash a second later when another voice piped up.

"We will save you," Dante said, stepping away from the wall a few feet from us. How long had he been standing there? I could feel the colour drain from my face, and I dislodged my hands from Eva's.

"If Sparda had still been around, he would have taken me out a long time ago. He would have chopped off my head as soon as he knew I was going to become a demon," I said, scrambling to my feet. "Efficient. Simple. Easy. So if you're so much better than your dad, then why can't you do it?"

"My father wasn't that heartless," Dante said matter-of-factly, and his eyes sent chills down through my core. "He would have ditched you in the demon realm to keep you away from the humans. He believed everyone deserved a chance to redeem themselves, including demons."

"All the more reason for you to just end it now!" I scowled back at him. "You didn't share his views when he was here, and you haven't changed your mind about it – so why don't you put me down already and save us all the agony of waiting until I kill somebody before..."

My voice disappeared on my tongue. Dante had drawn out Ivory and was aiming her straight at my head. Even though it was exactly what I thought I wanted, the best thing to do, seeing down the black barrel of a gun for the second time that day proved too much for my mind to cope with. Everything inside of me froze with blind terror.

"Do you really want it that bad?" Dante asked.

"Put that away, son," Eva said softly, and Dante obeyed, twirling the gun expertly before holstering her once more.

I could move again once the gun was out of my face, but my body had gone numb with fright, and I had to lean against the wall to hold myself standing. I closed my eyes, taking deep steady breaths to overcome the dizziness that followed my spurt of panic, and flinched when arms enveloped me into a secure embrace. Feeling his warmth seemed to chase the cold numbness from my veins, made me able to breathe again, and I allowed myself to relax against him. Sometimes it was good enough just to be held. Sometimes, it was all that was needed to keep things in perspective, to slow life down for a moment. I was at ease in his arms, could savour the steady rhythm of his heart and find comfort in every beat against my cheek. I was warm, safe, untouchable – and it felt damn good. Too good.

Too good to be real. I was letting my emotions reign over my logic, that's the problem. I could _feel_ safe with him, but I could never really _be_ safe with him. If something came over me right that moment, if some demonic force within me decided to rear its ugly head and I attacked Eva, I'd be dead on the floor before I'd be able to stop myself. I stepped away from Dante grudgingly, and halted in my tracks when I saw Eva's compassionate expression. She was so frail and small, so placid and trusting – what could she do to defend herself against a demon? I felt ice scrape me raw on the inside when the paranoid fear that I would lose my mind and actually try to kill her right there surfaced in my head. It's what drove me to quickly distance myself from them both, and with every step I put between us, I felt my anger return with interest.

"This can't go on. I'll kill you. I'll kill all of you, if you don't do something about it right now," I said.

The warmth that was in Dante's eyes caved into deep, icy crevasses at my words. Surprised concern flickered across Eva's face and she held her arms out to me in a calming gesture.

"I will find a cure for you..." Eva began.

"There is _no cure_!" I exploded. "How many cases have you heard of people being saved from turning into demons?"

Eva dropped her hands to her sides and scowled at me in frustration. "Just because we've never heard of this happening to anyone else it does not mean that it hasn't."

"So what do you expect me to do? Hope for salvation?" I said scathingly and pointed at Dante. "The only _cure_ there is for this is strapped to his back!"

"You have to trust me, Cora," Eva said pleadingly.

"Just do it!" I said when I saw Dante's hand disappear behind his back.

He paused, and levelled his gaze with my own. "Don't tempt me."

"Coward!" I hollered back.

"I'm not going to kill you," Dante said, letting his hands hang loose on his sides.

I stared at him for a long moment, and finally took a step toward him. "Vergil would. If I asked him, he would."

"Don't go there, Cora," Dante growled.

"Why? Are you afraid of the truth? Scared you'll realize that Vergil has a lot more experience and a lot more intellect than you do?"

"Please," Dante said and turned his eyes heavenward. "Are you done yet?"

"He cut off my hand, Dante. This one!" I said and waved my hand at him furiously. "He chopped it off clean with Yamato. Remember that night before he came back when you found me in the alley?"

Dante gave me an impatient look.

"I was in that alley because of him! He left me there... he wanted to drag me off into the demon lands to become his slave without having to deal with you. He was going to make me disappear, Dante!"

"Whatever," Dante said with a smirk, but there was a sharp glint in his eyes.

"He wants me dead. And I can bet your ass that he'll kill me if I got him pissed off enough! Unlike you. You've got no backbone."

"Listen, babe. You can't compare me with my brother..." Dante started nonchalantly.

"Why not? Sparda did. All the time! And you always drew up short. You were never fast enough, never smart enough, never strong enough..." I could see my words bulldozing down the walls he held up around the beast inside of him. The look in his eye changed, and his demeanour went deceivingly relaxed. The devil hunter was clawing its way out. "Because Vergil was always better, he was the son Sparda always wanted... he was the son you never were and never will have the chance to be..."

I didn't shut up until Eva actually darted forward and plastered her hand over my lips. "Quiet," she hissed at me, and then she wrenched me behind her with a violent movement and steered me back toward the main building, toward the backroom. Her hands were like steel wrapped in delicate silk, her grip was so tight around my wrists that I actually cried out.

When I finally got over the initial confusion of being roughly handled by Eva – Eva of all people – I looked over her shoulder and saw why. She was shielding me, walking backward, and steering me at the same time. Protecting me from a livid devil marching toward me with his enormous sword drawn. His lips were drawn back tight, his breath hissing through his teeth, and his eyes were as black and hard as obsidian. Demon eyes – I freaked out.

Eva no longer needed to prod me. I ran for the door with every ounce of energy I had. I burst into the backroom and bolted through the kitchen so suddenly that Vergil dropped the bottle of coke he'd just taken out of the fridge. I shot out the front door and mounted my bike so quick that my momentum nearly sent me jumping over the bike instead of onto it. I revved it to life, contemplated sabotaging the other bikes to keep him from coming after me, decided it would be signing my death certificate, and sped out of the driveway with a shriek of wheels.

In my panic to get away from the house, I swerved the bike in the direction of the country side. It was done on a whim, without thinking through the consequence – all I knew was that I'd rather have an army of demons swamp me than suffer in Dante's grasp.

I knew how he killed, how he liked to play before blowing his prey into the underworld. Maybe, if I was lucky, the demons would slow him down when he came after me.

Because he was coming after me. I could hear his bike roar to life far behind me, and I opened my own bike full throttle. 70. 100. 120. 160. The lever trembled on the verge of 180, and still I could hear him catching up to me. Meadows flashed past me in ghostly greens, the wind pricked my face and numbed my lips – oh, _stupid_, I forgot my helmet in all the rush. Dante was screaming something at me – insane that I could hear him at all over the raging wind and thunderous roar of the bike beneath me, it wasn't normal, wasn't human – and my mind deciphered the words as 'gonna kill you!'

The tar road turned into gravel, sending pebbles and dust flying, and finally disappeared altogether into thick yellow shrubbery and slippery grass. I was forced to slow the bike down to prevent another crash, and once I did, my mind was able to focus on exactly where I was.

Demons were scattered in the open flat fields around me like cattle, and they were well aware of my uninvited presence. Their heads were turned toward me, beady eyes glowering. The bike slid and the tyres lost traction for a second, sending my already racing heart pounding up into my head. I wrenched the bike to a standstill and toppled off the seat, taking the vehicle down with me.

I hurried to my feet clumsily, running away from Dante's fast approaching figure. Cold sweat broke out across my forehead and itched down my temples. My breath choked in and out with petrified sobs. He was going to catch me... there was no point in running... I was only delaying the inevitable... stop... stop running. This is what I wanted. He had to do it. My legs brought me to a stumbling halt, and I twirled around to face my pending doom head-on.

Dante was coming closer insanely fast. He was going to ram into me. The bike's engine rattled my eardrums. I saw him point a gun at me, aiming. A series of gunshots punched through the air, and I heard an inhumane squeal behind me. I whirled around in shock – realizing that I'd completely forgotten the other danger out there, apart from Dante – just in time to have a Chimera knock me right off my feet. I looked up, dazed, and found myself staring at a masquerade mask with black holes for eyes, a sharp nose, and a stitched together leather bag for a head behind it. A gloved hand with long sharp talons that sliced through the material came down and hooked into my gut, and I was flung into the air like a ragdoll, spinning helplessly with manic laughter filling my ears.

There was a loud buzzing pop off to my left, or it might have been to my right, or above me – and then it was around me. Yellow electricity made the fine hairs on my arms stand on end, poking into me from all sides like sharp spikes and doing something unpleasantly weird to my blood. The next second an enormous demon dropped onto me from out of nowhere and I was crushed back down onto solid ground. I barely felt the blow when I hit it, because my body was too numb and preoccupied with the electric current pulsing through it to take heed of any other injuries.

Little pops that reminded me of Rice Crispies' Snap, Crackle and Pop exploded through my head. I lifted my head when my body could finally fight off the physical shock enough to adhere to my brain's commands, and sucked in a deep breath of air and dust – and that's when I realized something was pinning me to the ground and tearing at my back. Like a dog scratching out its buried bone; something was trying to dig right through me.

Then the pressure relieved and the crackling stopped, and I managed to lift myself with my hands and glanced over my shoulder. A demon was standing there, all crackly yellow electricity, leaning back with a thick ugly tongue hanging from its open mouth.

It reminded me a lot of those fat drunk idiots Enzo used to kick out of the Love Planet – belching out their disgusting charm, flirting with the girls by flouncing their rolls. The demon suddenly disappeared with a buzz, reappeared in another spot, and another, and another, teleporting all over the place. It reappeared crouching on the ground inches away from me, and my skin tingled at its close proximity. It streaked forward abruptly with jet fire speed, and I saw Dante leap out of its way easily and land behind it on both his feet. He had his guns in his hands, and he was sending a legion of bullets right into the back of the demon's skull. The demon teleported in random space again to escape the retaliation Dante was unleashing on it.

I watched Dante put away his guns. I opened my mouth to shout at him not to, but my voice was completely gone, and I was powerless to do anything but watch when he came marching toward me. He crouched down in front of me when I finally managed to get onto my knees.

"Can you move?" He asked. His voice was too calm and casual, it sounded like he was asking me if I wanted an ice cream.

I reached out and gripped the leather of his sleeve with literally trembling fingers the same instant the demon reappeared right behind him. I could feel my eyes widen. My mouth had barely had chance to drop open in quiet warning when a loud shot jolted the atmosphere. The demon exploded in a fiery red puff and Dante lowered Coyote-A from his shoulder to holster it to his side. He rose to his feet, towering above me, intimidating, and hauled me up into his arms like I was a puppet. He slid me onto his bike with him in one fluent motion. He kicked the bike to life, steering with one hand and holding me securely with his other.

I didn't know whether he actually said the words or whether I imagined it.  
"You'll be okay, just hang on."

**~...~**


	22. Beat by Blood

By the time we got home it was late noon and there was no sign of Eva. Dante led me to one of the bar stools at the breakfast nook in the kitchen.

"Dante..." I said when he took out a first aid kit from the medicine cupboard.

"Don't," Dante said curtly, walking over to me with determination etched across his face.

"It doesn't hurt," I protested, and slouched forward with a breath of defeat when he opened the kit on the counter beside me. I could still feel tremors running through my blood – little electric currents weaving their way through my body just beneath my skin. It was the strangest sensation in the world. But the pain from my back and in my gut had gone on our speedy drive back home.

I felt nothing. My throat swelled suddenly, and I looked down at the faint pink scars on my arms. I didn't feel those scratches either... did that mean I was going to turn into the demons that had attacked me too? Was it the venom acting as a morphine to the pain, mutating my blood cells more than they already were, turning me into something horrendous? I cringed and my eyes snapped open wide when I felt Dante lift my shirt, and I clutched my arms across my chest protectively. The words 'what a crap time to play doctor-doctor' was echoing through my head, but they were reluctant to find their way to my tongue when I felt his cool fingertips gently caressing my back. My breath froze in my chest and I went still.

"You're okay," Dante finally said, but his fingers didn't relent on their trace. Dancing in small, sensual circles, softly, nicely – his touch worked its way into my skin and did unspeakable things to my heart. And my mind. It took a long minute to regain my willpower and reel back my haywire thoughts – damn hormones, and _damn Dante_ – and another drawn out second before I trusted my voice.

"It's healed?" I asked in a harsher tone than I intended. I pulled my shirt back down, savouring the cover of the material to protect my vulnerability, but with a sense of wistfulness. It doused the fire he'd started in me a little – which was probably a good thing, but it wasn't nice. I kind of liked the flames of wicked desire he stoked in me.

"Yeah," Dante said.

I straightened up on the bar stool and turned around to look at him. I wanted to apologize, I guess, for being such a twat before but my intentions fled my mind like startled pigeons when I faced him. His eyes were pits of dark stormy blue waters, swimming with heated craving. The mere look poured gasoline over my own.

Eyes locked, bodies melted to floor, we stared at each other for what felt like the longest time. I was the one who stopped resisting the magnetic pull first, and Dante yielded to it himself a second later.

Our lips laid claim on each other, softening and warming up to channel the deep, insatiable need we shared. The fumes of physical affection consumed my head and possessed my hands, and I found myself running my fingers through his hair, pressing my body as hard as was possible against his.

A little voice – my petrified conscience – whispered to me in embarrassed awkwardness '_this isn't right, you're going to stuff this up and look a fool'_, but the paranoid fear was overridden with the burning nerves and whirlwind of emotion I was caught up in. It didn't matter. I didn't care. So what?

_It's too risky. Self-control isn't an attribute you possess. _Shut up, I'll deal with the consequences later. _You need to stop while you can, don't let this go any further_...

But his hands were caressing my cheeks, moving up to weave through my hair, brushing down over the nape of my neck and sending every fibre in my body into a swirling inferno. _Eva's not home_... Yeah, alright!..._ remove yourself from the situation, Cora, do it now..._ Go to hell...

The kisses were becoming feverish, more passionate, lasting longer... and then he pulled away. I had my arms around his neck and drew him close to me, but my mouth drew up short against the finger he held up to stop me.

"You're shaking," Dante said, and the flash of guilt in his eyes is what killed any chance of this being continued.

"So? It's nothing," I whispered, staring at him pleadingly. This couldn't be happening. After years of avoiding it, running from it, teasing with the idea that we could ever cross the line and be together, and finally succumbing to it – life couldn't be this cruel.

"_No_, Cora, you're trembling," Dante said, grabbing my hands when I tried to pull him in for another kiss.

"Damn it, Dante!" I snapped in disbelief, and tried to step away from him. That's when I realized he was right. I hadn't taken notice of anything but him since we got home, but now I _was_ trembling, from my head down to my toes. Not just a normal trembling either – it was the tremor I'd felt soaring in my veins before. It was leaking from my skin pores, flooding my body with uncontrollable shudders, the next wave longer and more violent than the first. "What-?"

"It might be shock," Dante said. He pulled me to his side and with a secure arm around me, he steered me up the hallway toward the family den. The next wave of shivers had my teeth chattering together, and I hugged myself hard to try still it.

"C'me here for a second," Dante said with a toss of his head when we stepped into the den.

I sat down on the couch thankfully, my legs weak and unstable beneath me, and looked up sharply when Vergil spoke from the front foyer. "What for?"

"Just c'me here," Dante persisted.

"No, Dante, I don't..." I started when Vergil appeared in the doorway.

Dante sat down beside me and firmly pulled me back onto the couch when I made to get up and leave. "Enough already, Cora."

"I... we can deal with this, you and me, why do you have to bring him into it?" I said accusingly, frowning at him.

"What have you done now?" Vergil asked, and my head snapped toward him. He had the tone of voice of someone in authority; of an adult fed up with a child's misbehaving. A tone far too mature for his age. He wandered into the den a few more steps, frosty eyes shifting from me to Dante and back.

"Cora was attacked," Dante said remorsefully. "It wasn't a p..."

"Save it, Dante," Vergil interjected.

I leaned back in the couch when he crouched down in front of me. His eyes never left my face – it was unnerving. Even though he was so close to me, he didn't touch me.

"She's got the shakes. Do we have anything for it?" Dante asked.

"Yes, we do. There's a big bottle labelled Shock Treatment in the bathroom cabinet," Vergil said.

Dante shot off the couch and I leaned my face into my hand with a groan. Vergil's lips twisted down and he let out half an impatient sigh before stifling it and glaring at a spot on the wall far above my head.

"Dante-" I said.

"You might want to get the Detect-Obvious-Sarcasm tablets and down the whole lot, while you're at it," Vergil interrupted me, tearing his gaze from the wall to look at Dante who stopped short at his words. "We don't have any medicine except for the headache pills mother use."

"Tch," Dante muttered.

"Do you have a metallic taste in your mouth?" Vergil redirected his attention back to me, and I shook my head. "Double vision? Light headed at all?"

I kept shaking my head, and clenched my teeth when another fit of tremors shook through me. He took hold of my hand with a firm grip, and suddenly dropped it after a second. "Skin's not cold," Vergil said and stepped away from me, as though being so near me disgusted him. "What demon attacked her?"

"I dunno...it was a bunch of them. Some scarecrows and chimera, and that irritating teleporting demon," Dante said.

"There are about ninety different demons with the ability to teleport, Dante. You need to give me more than that," Vergil scoffed.

"It was ugly," Dante said with a shrug. "Think it had some electric element to it. I couldn't touch it with Rebellion without getting a nasty shock so I had to take it out with these babies." Dante said and whipped back his coat to show off his pistols.

"I see," Vergil said, and stared at me curiously. "Well, it's not shock. You might want to rest. Recharge your energy."

"She needs help," Dante said.

"She needs to relax. The tremors will cease by themselves, there's nothing to be done about it. Just wait it out," Vergil said.

"You're no help," said Dante, and pulled me to my feet. "Let's go make you super comfy, Cora. I don't know what's the point of having a brainiac for a brother if he's all theory and no practicality."

"Dante..." Vergil started.

"Forget it. I'll figure it out myself," Dante said coldly.

The stairs were a total pain to climb, and relief hugged me when we finally made it to my room and I could lie down between the downy clutter of pillows.

"Can I get you anything? Water, or cookies, or something?" Dante asked, wiggling my shoes off my feet.

"No. I'm okay right here," I said.

"Where's mom?" Dante asked, tossing my sneakers in a corner of the room.

I blinked at him, and turned to see Vergil had slipped into my room and was leaning against the wall beside my window.

"Don't know. She took off right after you two left, with some choice words," Vergil said, peering through my curtains before casting a sly look at me.

He didn't turn away when I caught the glance. There was something in his eyes – something dark and powerful that prompted a primal fear in me. I wanted nothing more than to run away from him.

Dante's fingers entwined with mine, and he roughly rubbed the bridge of his nose with his sleeve. "Are you going to help me or not?"

He'd caught the visual exchange between me and Vergil. I could tell by the quiet fury radiating off him like a boiler on the verge of combusting. He was frowning down at my hand in his. His complexion was a shade paler, his lips a grim line, his gaze hard as steel.

"The venom has already spread. It'll do you no good to extract it now," Vergil said softly, as if he sensed that Dante had reached breaking point.

"So what's it gonna do, kill her?" Dante demanded sharply.

"No," Vergil said.

Dante hesitated, and turned his head toward Vergil. They stared at one another evenly for a few moments. "Tell me what I want to know."

"No."

"Get the hell out," Dante growled.

"And what if you need me, brother?" Vergil said ominously, coming to stand at the foot of the bed. "You're incompetent when it comes to these things. You lack the ability to function efficiently when it comes to the girl – what are you going to do when the next stage of transformation kicks in?"

"Next stage? There's a next stage? I thought it was just one long drawn out process," I said, alarmed.

"You'll come to me for help, just as you always do," Vergil said, flat out ignoring me and hovering over Dante. "When she starts screaming and begging for death, you'll come running to me. We both know it. I think I'll stay."

"Screaming?" I squeaked, my eyes bulging in my head when I looked at Dante pleadingly. "Dante, what's he talking about me screaming? Why would I scream?"

"Your emotion clouds your judgement," Vergil said.

"Fuck off," Dante said, letting go of my hand and getting up. "I don't need you. Don't make me repeat it."

I looked from one brother to the other, separated by my bed. They looked about ready to launch at one another. Then Vergil's anger lapsed into indifference, and he showed the ghost of a sadistic smirk. In a mind-boggling fast movement, Yamato lashed out and trapped Dante motionlessly by the throat. He didn't flinch at the sharp edge pressing into his skin. A trickle of blood curled its way down toward his chest. Vergil tilted his head to the side when Dante didn't react, and withdrew the blade a second later. Dante icily watched him leave the room, and he didn't turn back to me until the door closed with a clear click behind Vergil.

"Damn it," Dante breathed, sinking down on the bed beside me, with an emotion I could only guess might have been relief.

"What was he on about?" I asked.

"He thinks it's going to hurt you," Dante said, and added quickly at my panicked expression, "He might be wrong, Cora. He's been wrong before, he might be with this, too."

"I thought he's never wrong," I said in a small voice, sinking back into the pillows when another shudder raked through me.

"Well there's a first time for everything," Dante scowled. "Don't worry, I'm not going to leave you. I'll be right here with you the whole time, alright?"

I eyed him uncertainly when he reclined on the bed and put his arm around me. We were quiet for a long time, and when I started trembling again, he pulled me close.

I tried to close my eyes and relax my body, but the fits were coming faster, causing my muscles to tighten and lock. At one stage Dante's fingers were working magic into my strained muscles, undoing the taut knots that were becoming painful.

"If it hurts too much, and... to the point where I can't take it anymore... would you do it?" I asked later, during a break in between the fits when I could breathe again.

Dante didn't answer. He wouldn't look at me. He increased the pressure on my forearm, kneading the tissue with deliberate, firm strokes. I think I made him mad for repeating what Vergil had said. Or maybe he was mad at Vergil for always being right.

**~...~  
**  
I don't know when exactly I'd fallen asleep, only that I was surprised I managed to sleep at all.  
I woke up in bed, feeling refreshed and strong with a gentle breeze swirling in through my open window and stroking my face in a soft wakeup call. I heard soft snoring, and peeked down past the pillow I was clutching to see Rambo curled up on the floor beside my bed. I licked my lips. So I made it. And the tremors had gone, but I was going to feel the result of it today. My body felt stiff and tender, as if I'd been lifting weights all day. I rolled onto my back to slowly stretch, and made contact with another body next to me. I yanked back my hand when a spark exploded between my hand and the smooth toned back of the body. He flinched, and pulled the pillow over his head away to blink at me sleepily.

"Good morning to you too," Dante said and smiled at me.

"Sorry," I mumbled, propping myself up in bed.

"What time is it?"

"Seven forty two."

"Gugh. School," Dante grumbled, shoving his head back under the pillow.

"I'm not going."

"Mee meeewer."

"What?" I asked, and picked the pillow off.

"Me neither," Dante repeated with a heavy breath. "Go back to sleep."

"Your mom will have a fit if she knows you were in my room all night."

Dante responded with a lazy chuckle, and I swatted him on the shoulder only to win another sharp shock.

"Ouch!" Dante flinched, and turned his head to look at me tiredly.

"Sorry," I mumbled again, swinging my legs over the side of the bed to get up.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm hungry."

"Hah. That's new," Dante snorted. "I guess that means you're feeling better."

"Hmm."

"Wait, wait," Dante said and crawled out of bed. "Stay. I'll go get us something."

"I'm perfectly capable of getting breakfast myself."

"Shut up and stay put."

"Don't mind if I do then," I said, lifting my feet back onto the bed. I heard him shuffle from the room, and closed my eyes. It felt nice, this feeling of well being. Rambo woke up and padded downstairs when the smell of grilled bacon streamed through the air a little while later. When I opened my eyes and looked at the time, it was quarter past ten. I dragged myself downstairs and walked in on a heated argument taking place across the kitchen counter.

"He's a sadistic bastard. He's been using Cora like she's some puppet," Dante said.

"I'm not using her. She's helping me. If she really doesn't want to help me, she won't," Vergil said. "You know how difficult it is to get her to do the most trivial thing when she's not interested."

"He wanted to stick around to watch her suffer last night," Dante said.

"I offered my presence to you because I have a vast knowledge of the demonic. I was trying to help you out."

"You're a real piece of work, Vergil," Dante said coldly.

Vergil responded with a cool, calculated stare.

"I am not impressed with either of you," Eva spoke up. "Dante, you need to think before you speak. I know you boys don't always get along, but you are brothers, and I know for certain that neither of you would hurt the other on purpose."

"I have my doubts," Dante said.

"I wouldn't lie to you. You'd know if I were, Dante," Vergil said blandly.

"What is going on with Cora?" Eva asked.

"I thought blabbermouth told you already," Dante said, caught off guard.

"No Dante, I mean why are you two bickering over her? It can't be jealousy, I don't believe that of you, Vergil."

"It's a clash of opinions, that's all it is," Vergil said.

"That's what you call it?" Dante spat.

"What would you call it?"

"I'd call it bullshit. You're full of it! You've got your sights set on her. Use her, get what you want, leave her high and dry when you're satisfied. What, you think I don't know the sudden influx of demons is your doing? How stupid do you think I am?"

"How do demons running around town link back to me and Cora?" Vergil asked with a mock curious tone, dangerously leaning across the counter toward Dante.

"She can control them. You can control her. Control her, control the demons, all to try and control me to help you open the seals."

"Foolishness."

"A monkey could put two and two together. You're a control freak."

"Mother," Vergil sighed irately.

"Is it true?" Eva asked, turning suspicious azure eyes on her youngest.

"Of course it is, he's Mr. Perfect. Everything has to be done his way. He has to be above everyone all the time. The money, the food, the power..." Dante ticked them off on his fingers. "He wants to control it all."

"Well someone needed to take charge when father left," Vergil bit back.

The words silenced them all. I saw a shadow of weakness veil Vergil in that moment; as though he couldn't quite believe he'd said it out loud, and that it hurt him to say the words. Maybe he did have issues with Sparda leaving after all, and his attitude toward it back then had been a mere act to shield himself from the pain it caused.

"That doesn't mean you have to try to be like him," I said. Eva and Dante were surprised to see me lurking just inside kitchen, but Vergil's features iced over. "That's why you're after his sword, isn't it? Because you feel you have to replace him entirely."

"What my intentions are have nothing to do with you, and what I feel..." Vergil snarled, "...If you could guess what I feel, you would run and never set your foot back here."

"I was just saying, no one expects you to play Sparda," I said weakly.

"What would you know? I am his son, _of course_ it's expected of me, you fool!"

"No it's not..."

"Don't interfere with things you don't understand."

"I'm not an idiot, I completely understand..."

"Get out of my sight before I hurt you."

I blinked in surprise, and felt icicles stab me from all sides when Eva kept her gaze downcast. I would have thought she'd reprimand him for threatening me – she was always scolding him when the banter with Dante became actual threats – but when she didn't, I looked to Dante for help.

"It's best you go, Cora," Dante said. The icicles drove right into my heart.

Vergil was still staring at me with loathing and restrained rage. I backtracked from the room quickly, and left the house with Rambo happily trailing behind me. I made my way to the city by foot, feeling a bridge fall into line between me and them with every step I took.

It was during that walk that something solidified itself in me. My hate for Vergil. A deep, dark, writhing hate that imbedded its roots into my core and sprouted sharp branches reaching to every part of my being.


	23. Prince of Hearts

There wasn't much to do in the city. The arcade was empty, save for the staff, and had a creepy feel to it. I had no cash to go on any sort of shopping spree, and I got bored with window browsing after three stores. I stood staring at the posters of films rolling at the theatre until the ticket masters behind the counter shooed me and Rambo away. I wandered around game stores without really taking note of the merchandise, and eventually ended up heading toward the library.

The thing that sucked about bunking school was that you had no friends to chill out with. Lorry didn't have that rebellious streak in her to do something 'wrong', and Van would only drag me to his scummy groupie to smoke it up in some black draped, air-deprived room. Roman would have joined me if it had been a premeditated thing, because he wasn't one for impulsive actions. I needed my friends, I needed my family – I needed _somebody_ to talk to, and there was no one I could turn to.

Might as well isolate myself. What was the point in taking other people into my trust and unloading on them? They wouldn't get it, they didn't know where I was coming from, they had no idea. They would only judge me. Shrug it off. Give me an awkward pat with the hollow 'it's going to be okay' motto, or go into some mediocre lecture of quoting one or the other great persona – Ghandi or Shakespeare maybe. I think I might lose it if anyone came to me with that gibberish.

A beat whispered through the air and tickled my eardrums. I paused, and cocked my head toward the noise. It sounded familiar. I changed my course abruptly and followed it. Rambo whined unhappily but kept right beside me. The rhythm became roaring music, and as I closed in on the source, I could hear the feral snarls and growls and manic laughter of a demonic brawl.

I found myself faced with the redwood door leading to the underground club. Now it sported a broken neon sign _Ho₊ S‽σ₊_. I hadn't been here for a while because I didn't have any need to come here, but now the place lured me toward it with devious temptation. When I set foot on the top step, two tall and brawny demons emerged from within the wall on either side of the door. So, they replaced the guards; it made the place look less conspicuous without those visible deformed monstrosities. Nice touch.

"I know you're not going to ask me for my ID," I snapped at the guards impatiently. "Let me pass."

The guards exchanged hungry, knowing smirks, and melted back into the wall. Fresh meat. I could almost hear their dumb thoughts. I stepped into the club, lit by haloes of deep bloody red lights and black shadows. Eyes winked at me from the dark as I made my way over to the bar, and I sank onto a stool with a sigh. Rambo cagily curled up by my feet.

"Here for dinner, little girl?" the demon behind the counter had an inept scaly body, completely out of proportion, far too skinny and small for its enormous head. The red eyes blinked back at me menacingly.

"No. Watcha got on your beverage menu? I need a strong picker-upper," I said.

"Got some Blue Weed cocktail. Gives the biggest demons here a real good kick. Lethal to humans," he said with a malicious grin.

"Good thing I'm not human then," I said, glaring at him. "Now gimme."

"Funny, you look human. You sound human. You smell human."

"Yeah, funny that," I said flatly. "Are you going to serve me or do I need to go elsewhere, lizard-head?"

"You got money?"

"You can put it on my tab."

"You've been here before?" the demon asked in a guttural voice. "You a devil hunter? Where's your ammo?"

"Give the lady a drink," a cold, rugged voice spoke next to me, and a squat demon with silver metal for skin sat down beside me. "If she was a devil hunter, she wouldn't be making chit chat. It's on me." He added, and turned glittering amber eyes on me.

"Thanks," I mumbled uncertainly.

"Bad day?"

"Hmpf. Bad day doesn't even come close," I said and picked up the glass of lime green liquid the bartender shoved across at me with suspicious vigilance. I swirled the fluid around in the glass for a minute.

"Same with me," the demon beside me remarked. "Had it tough today, whatnot with my master riding my ass like I was some hotrod."

"Pity you," I said off-handed, and pointed to the glass before frowning at the bartender. "Why is it called Blue Weed if it's green?"

The bartender shrugged, stumped at my question. "It looks blue to me."

"It's _green_," I said, and clicked my tongue. "So demons _and_ men are colour blind? Whoop."

"No, just this one," the demon beside me said. I looked at him and saw him staring at the drink. He smiled.

"Huh," I huffed, and turned slightly on my seat to face him curiously.

"Give me a whiskey, Yt," the demon said to the bartender.

"You've got _whiskey_ here?" I asked, stunned.

"Refined taste," the demon smirked at me. "What's a little thing like you doing down here? You know this is a place for demons to unwind."

"Clearly," I arched my eyebrows at him. "What's a higher up demon like you doing in a low joint like this?"

"Like I said."

"Bad day?" I said with a snort and glared down into my drink. "Yeah, well, when life sucks, it sucks."

"Here's to bringing about destruction to the bastards who make it suck," the demon held his glass of whiskey up.

"To destruction," I said, lifting my glass and clinking it against his in a toast. I took a tentative sip. The fluid went down easy with a sweet taste that left a pleasant tickle behind on my tongue.

"The name's Kurst," the demon said suddenly.

I stared at him for a long second. "Ivana."

"Ivana, hmm? Haven't we got an Ivana around here somewhere? She might like to meet you," Yt said, mixing a drink in a tall goblet for another patron.

"Yeah, that'd be me, you idiot," I said, watching him pour and blend chunky juice and red fluid from several bottles. "I just didn't dress up for the show because I didn't plan on coming here today."

"Yet here you are," Yt said.

"The place called me in," I said icily. "It's a _thing_, you won't get it."

"I get it," Kurst said slowly. "You haven't been running the rounds since that kid stopped coming here."

I shrugged and pursed my lips before giving the demon a hard look. "Ah, so that's why you're all chummy chummy. I thought it was odd that a demon would try to relate to another. What do you want, Mr. Kurst? If you want another fighting tournament, forget it. I'm done with it."

"Can a demon not show empathy to his fellow kin?" Kurst said innocently.

"Whatever," I breathed out heavily.

There was a companionable silence surrounding the demons seated at the bar. The cocktail started to affect me when I neared the bottom of the glass, and I gestured for another one when the last drop cascaded down my throat. It seemed only then, when I didn't drop over and spasm as they clearly expected me to, that the demons relaxed around me.

"This one is on the house, halfbreed," Yt said, and I fixed him with a deadly glare.

"I'm not a halfbreed," I snapped.

"You stink like one."

"Screw you!" I shot back and my mouth dropped open when he snatched the drink out of my hand. "Hey!"

"My bar, my drinks. You don't like what I call you, you get nothing from me."

"You stupid demon!" I muttered and got off the stool. "Fine. I'll go somewhere better."

Yt was grumbling something to my back, and I felt my temper rise. I spun around to face him. "What did you say to me?"

I was shaking again. The tremor from the night before flushed its way through me now; it was like a dam wall breaking, an unstoppable rush that swept me up and carried me with it. The air around me crackled menacingly, and I wondered for a split second whether it was some sort of shield they had installed that only activated when a fight was going to break out in the bar. The thought only provoked my temper even more, and the rush became a tsunami. I literally saw red, and advanced a step toward the bar. I reached for the stool, intent to launch it at Yt behind the counter, and realized that the sharp snaps resonating in the air around me wasn't any shield. It was me. The stool glowed a luminous electric green when I touched it, and a sizzling sound lifted in the air.

I lost it. I blacked out, because I couldn't remember anything from that second onward. I found myself gasping and stumbling down the street, steered by big, firm hands. I was turned around and face to face with Kurst.

"You okay, little one?"

His silver-liquid face was splattered with blood, and he was grinning at me flatly. I lifted my hands, watching the trembling subside into small ripples before stopping entirely. Bloody hands. My nails were broken, my knuckles speckled with my own fresh blood – and there was blood all over both of us.

"Made quite an impression back there, didn't we?" Kurst said, his breath slowing.

"What the hell happened?" I asked, genuinely puzzled and afraid. I glanced down the street back toward the club, and blinked at the demon bodies strewn on the cobblestone. "What happened?!"

"No need to get worked up,"Kurst said, and squeezed my shoulder approvingly. "You just put a couple of them in their place. Made it known exactly where you stood with them all. Claimed your territory, y'know." He winked at me.

"Oh...wow..." I put my hands up to my forehead and sank down on the curb.

"I've got to get back to my master, little one," Kurst crouched down in front of me with twinkling eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow, same time, same place." He made a curt nod toward the club, and left.

I stared at the massacre. Part of me wanted to go back in there and gloat in the reputation I'd just set for myself; to go see first-hand exactly what damage I'd caused. But my instincts were screaming at me to get away from there. Find help. Hide. Be safe. Don't ever go back there. It was a long time before I could find any strength to put into my legs and get to my feet.

I felt disappointed, oddly enough. It took the entire forty minute walk back home to put my finger on it. I _was _disappointed, not for blacking out and having no memory of what had occurred in the club, but because I'd sat in a street littered with dead demons, coated in demon gore, for over an hour. Alone. No one had come looking for me. Nobody came after me. And it hurt as intensely as it disappointed. Rambo trailed on behind me at a safe distance. Whatever I'd done, it had scared him.

The sun was descending to meet the blue and black skyline when I sauntered up the driveway and stepped into the house. The warm aroma of pecan pies and sweetened fizzy drinks welcomed me, and my stomach gave a rumbling wail.  
I started down the hall when Eva appeared from the family den. "Cora, where have you..." Eva broke off with a terrified cry and jolted away from me physically. "What happened? Oh my goodness, _what happened_?"

"Stuff," I said vaguely and left her behind me in frozen shock. I helped myself to a pie in the kitchen and wolfed it down. When Rambo softly headbutted my leg, I dropped another pie on the floor for him. I picked a two litre bottle of fizzy drink from the fridge and took a sip from it before starting back up the hallway.

Eva intercepted me in the front foyer, Vergil right behind her. "Cora, sweetheart..."

I shrugged her off and brushed past them. My eyes locked with Vergil's for a second when I walked past. There was still a shimmer of fear somewhere deep inside of me, but the coldness in his eyes only reflected the ice I felt within myself. I could kill him, if I had the power. With no remorse. Easily. Was I beginning to shut down emotionally? I prodded the question mercilessly in my head on my way upstairs. I grabbed some clean clothes from my room and slammed the door shut behind me when I trailed down the hall to the bathroom. I heard a loud crash, and then Dante's infuriated voice from his bedroom.

"Damn it! Who the hell is slamming the damn doors?" His door wrenched open and he leaned out of his room, rubbing the back of his head. His blue eyes were bright and encrusted with sleep, and when I glided past him I noticed his chair lying on its back on the floor. "Cora, what did you get into?"

I held my fist to him and extended my middle finger in response. Dante scowled at me. "What? You're not talking to me now?"

I slammed the bathroom door shut behind me in answer. Damn him. And damn these damn little butterflies in my damn stomach whenever he was close. I stood under the shower with the hot water burning and blistering my skin; stood until the water cooled into ice and my body turned numb. I twisted the shower shut and sat against the door in the comforting folds of a thick terrycloth towel for a long time. I wanted to cry, but what was the point? What could I really complain about? I wasn't part of their family, I was forever telling that to Dante, so why did it sting so much to be excluded?

"You know he's right to do what he's done." My breath hitched in my chest at Dante's voice right outside, and I leaned my head back against the door. "It's tradition for the sons to take over what the father leaves behind."

I don't care. I tried to blink away the tears welling in my eyes, and stared up at the ceiling angrily. I don't care. I don't want to know. Just go away.

"He was just doing what he thought was right," Dante added defiantly when I didn't respond. "And you know what? I think it's cool that he's stepping up to the plate. And I'll back him up and support him in that decision."

Go. To. Hell. Go anywhere. Just go away. It hurt too much just hearing his voice, knowing that I'd been betrayed. Or maybe I was being selfish. Maybe Roman was right when he said that I was jealous. I dropped my head against my knee in frustration. This was going to drive me insane. I needed to get away from them, all of them. What did I need them for anyway? Nothing. I could cope on my own. I didn't need anyone.

I got dressed, swallowing down the tears clogging up my throat as Dante carried on his one-sided conversation. Defending Vergil. Praising him.

"...you've got to admire him for coming back..." Yeah, it was real admirable of him to cut off my hand, too. "...You've got to at least give him that much. You saw how happy it made my mother, and things have been easier and better ever since he came home, don't you think?"

I kicked the door open angrily and Dante retreated in time to avoid a collision. "Why don't you build a shrine around him and worship him?" I exploded.

"I'm not sucking up to him," Dante retorted.

"No...whatever, you know what, you were right, Dante," I said, waving him away in irritated anger. I marched to my room and started to stuff my clothes into a duffel bag.

"I'm always right," Dante said with a smirk, following me into my room.

"When you said it's best that I go," I spat at him, emptying my drawer onto the bed and scooping the contents into my bag.

"I didn't mean pack up and leave," Dante said.

"It's better if I do. I don't want to be in the same house as him. I don't ever want to see him again. I can't _stand_ him and he can't stand me, and I'd rather go die on the street somewhere than look him in the eye every day." I rambled, squishing my shoes into the bag. Arms locked around me from behind, and tightened when I started to struggle. The grip was firm and trapped my hands close to my body, and I found renewed strength to squirm in the iron hold.

"You and my... brother were able to get along once, you can do so again," Dante breathed in my ear, fighting to keep me restrained. "You just need to work at it."

"I hate him," I growled back, putting all my weight into my struggling.

"So what? We don't exactly get along either, in case you haven't noticed," I leaned forward in an attempt to break his hold on me, and he pulled me tighter against him. "He's my brother, what do you want me to do, Cora? I didn't choose to be blood-bound to a cynic."

"You mean lunatic?" I said venomously, and stopped my struggle. "Let go of me."

His arms became rib-crushingly tight around me."I'm not going to let you run out on me again."

"Why the hell not? You might be family to that psychotic perfectionist, but I'm not. I _can_ leave whenever I damn well want to! I don't have to put up with this shit. It's not my family, not my business, not my problem. Now, let me go." I said through clenched teeth.

"I don't want you to leave," Dante said quietly, and his arms fell away around me.

I could breathe again. I snatched up my bag and turned to face him. "I don't want to talk about this."

"Where are you going?" Dante said, making no move to stop me when I headed for the door.

"To Lorry's," I called over my shoulder. I skipped downstairs and narrowed my eyes when I saw Vergil leaning against the front door, obviously waiting for me. I let rip a whistle, and Rambo came running. I stopped short before Vergil. "Move."

"No."

"Don't test me," I threw the words he'd hissed at me in the alley back at him now.

"Why not?" Vergil said, slowly lowering his hand onto the hilt of Yamato.

"What is this some sort of sick game?" I shouted at him angrily. "Get out of my fucking way!"

"Cora!" Eva scolded behind me.

I whirled around to face her, and the tears I'd been fighting won the war. "I'm going, and I'm not coming back. You can't keep me here!"

"Don't leave like this!" Eva said, her voice quivering, and I had to look away from the hurt in her eyes.

"Get out of the way," I said to Vergil.

"No-"

"Rambo," I barked, and the hellhound's smooth shimmering fur disappeared into a hellishly hot red fire. The demon let out a frightening, malevolent growl from deep within its throat, and padded forward, blazing eyes fixed on Vergil. One word and Rambo would attack, give it his all. Vergil drew Yamato from its sheath and shook his head at me with a small smile. Try it, that look said.

"Let her go," Dante spoke from the top of the stairs.

"Brother..." Vergil lowered his sword.

"It's fine. Here," Dante was next to me, and was pushing a key into my hand.

"I can't take your bike..." I said.

"You don't have yours. Just take it and go."

"Fine," I said. Vergil stepped aside only when Dante physically forced him to.

"She can't go off on her own," Vergil said.

"Watch me," I shot at him. Eva was speaking to me, but I was already out the door. I mounted the motorbike awkwardly, and sped toward the city with Rambo surprisingly keeping up with me.

Lorry was beyond shocked to see me on her doorstep. Her family was albeit welcoming at my sudden and uninvited presence, and I was pulled into their routine like I was one of their own. We sat and watched sitcoms until eight when Lorry's little brother and sister went to bed.

The TV switched off and we listened to some slow ballads over the radio; Lorry's dad going over some paperwork, her mom settling down on the couch beside him to read a book. I helped Lorry with her homework, and then her parents were bidding us goodnight, and we were left alone in the lounge. I drank glass after glass of water, with hot coco and a few cups of juice in between. I'd developed an unquenchable thirst ever since I left the club earlier, and I was starting to feel bloated from all the liquids. We fixed ourselves a bowl of popcorn and sat talking and catching up in the warm light from the lit hearth. Rambo was confined to remain outside, but every now and then I saw his eyes flash at me through the black shadows of night in the window. I discussed with Lorry about my idea to move in with Uncle Dill and Aunt Babe. She wasn't for it.

"You shouldn't let some guy drive you out of town. Gosh, Cora, you were born and raised here. Your life is here, you can't let some loser get the best of you like this. I'll reject you as a friend if you leave me." Lorry had come back with a very emotional reply, and cut off the conversation with a simple 'it's late, we need to go to bed'. Because Lorry knew once I've made up my mind, it was pretty darn hard to change it. I went looking for the spare blankets in the hallway cupboard while Lorry brought an armful of pillows through when there was a brief knock on the door.

We both froze, eyes wide, and glanced at the time. Quarter past midnight. We looked at each other again in alarm.

"Was that a knock?" I whispered.

"Ye..."

Another knock, louder and angrier this time. Lorry dropped the pillows and hurried to the door. She peeked out through the eye-hole, and then lowered down onto her heels with a relieved sigh.

"It's Dante," she whispered to me. "Should I open the door?"

"Ugh," I mumbled and shook my head. "Let's dim the lights. He'll go away eventually."

"Unless he wakes up the whole house," Lorry hissed when another knock sounded sharply at the door.

"Fine, okay," I hissed back and went to join her side. "Don't wait up, this might take a while." I told her quietly. Because it most likely would. Dante never took no for an answer, and when he did, it took a long time to beat him down hard to acceptance first.

"Okay. See you in the morning. Shout if you need me for support," Lorry said, giving my arm a little squeeze.

I took a breath to brace myself, and opened the door ajar. Dante was standing on the doorstep, illuminated by the sharp porch light. His hair was windblown and he was glowering softly down at the disintegrating welcome mat by his feet. He was wearing a black T-shirt that hugged the smooth muscles of his chest, and a pair of dark sweatpants with white stripes down the sides. He'd come to serenade me in his sleepwear. Great.

"I'm not going back," I whispered, closing the front door behind me as quietly as I could. "You wasted your time coming all the way out here in the middle of the night. I don't want to come between you and your brother... honestly, I don't want anything to do with your brother. You don't know how cruel he can be," I said quietly.

Dante looked up at me then, and the look on his face prompted me into further speech. "You _don't_. He wouldn't... and this whole thing about him wanting to replace Sparda is total bull. He's playing the sympathy card, you know that right?" Dante's eyes sparked at me and I could see the words building up in him. I carried on quickly before he could let them lose. "He's making you feel guilty for taking on this invincible task, but it was _his_ decision. I told him back then that he was making a mistake, but you know how he is. Nobody asked him to do it. He did it willingly, and now he has to suck up the consequences. Yeah, you're right, things have been easier for us financially since he came back, but you're looking at the surface of things. I mean... what the hell is he going to do when he gets Sparda's sword? Have you wondered what he could possibly want to do with all that power?"

His expression turned from angry to remote as I talked, and finally settled into what I could class as a humble look. His gaze warmed toward me, and his grim lips softened into a tiny half smile. I stepped toward him, believing I was finally having a breakthrough and would win Dante over for good. "What if he's thinking of merging the human realm with the demonic? He could do that with Sparda's power, and he's so focused on his greed that..." I frowned when I saw the blue bike standing further down the driveway beside my red one. "He let you use his bike?" I asked, stumped silent for a minute. I tore my eyes away from the bikes to look at him, confused. "Vergil let you ride his bike? I thought he swore he'd stab you through the gut with Rebellion if you ever touched his stuff."

"A vow that I will keep," Dante drawled, and I stared at him with round eyes. His smile deepened slightly. "My intention to gain Sparda's power is not as diabolical as you have obviously speculated. The sword has become a family heirloom with his passing. It belongs to me and Dante."

"What?" I squeaked, retreating a step before freezing over.

"The power would serve as protection over our family. Having it float around out there for demons and humans alike to retrieve it is not an option. No one can handle the power of Sparda. They may try, but they will inevitably fail," Vergil's smile vanished. "And with their failure, millions will suffer."

"As opposed to them succeeding and still having millions of humans suffer?" I found my voice, small and feeble as it was.

"All the more reason to prevent a catastrophe. If I have it in my possession, everything shall be as it should be."

"Where's Dante?" I asked, glancing toward the dark street lit with sporadic flood lamps.

"He didn't come with me."

"Why not? Where is he?"

"At home. Will you come with me?"

"No. Why are you here and _he's _not?" I asked, cursing at my own weakness when tears pricked my eyes.

"Because my foolish lazy brother thought it would do you some good to break away and clear your head for a while."

"Oh," I said, and folded my arms across my chest uncertainly. "Okay. Well I'm not going back, he knows that."

I chewed my lip nervously, studying the cracks in the porch floor by my feet before finally looked up. Vergil was watching me with peculiar attentiveness.

"Why are you here? Because you're not done with me yet?" I asked.

"I told him it's not a good idea to let you go. You're changing fast. Hormones shifting, molecules rearranging themselves – you're in a very fickle condition, Cora."

"I can cope with it myself," I said, inching back toward the front door.

"No, you can't."

"Yes I can. Go home, Vergil."

"You can not deal with this by yourself without dire consequences," Vergil objected.

"Just piss off, I don't need you to come tell me what I can and can't do," I retorted sharply.

Vergil turned toward me with a sneer. "It won't take that much to set you off. The wrong word here," he stalked up to me and I backed up against the door, grasping blindly behind me for the doorknob. "The wrong look there," his breath washed over my face, " the wrong touch here." He flicked his fingers at a spot on my shoulder, and I felt my blood boil over. "And you lose it."

The air around us was bristling with static. Vergil moved back from me with sick triumph in his eyes.  
"Go ahead. Deal with it. Show me how you were planning on coping with this thing by yourself."

"Go. Away," I bit back. "Or I'll hurt you."

"Show me."

The static burst into full out electric sparks that went off like fireworks all around us. I moved forward, and then there was a moment of complete disorientation when I was suddenly pinned back against the yard fence. The front porch I was on just a second ago was far off across the green lawn to my left, and my arm was aching terribly. Vergil had my other arm in a firm grip, and he was leaning close to me. His cheek was pressed against mine as he murmured archaic words in my ear, and I closed my eyes. His breath was warm against my skin, and his voice strangely soothing. I didn't know what he was saying, but whatever it was I could feel my body respond to it. The tremor in me stilled, the fury in me withdrew, and I physically relaxed. His grip on my arm softened too. He stopped talking after a moment, but he didn't move away, and I couldn't.

"I blanked out," I finally said. I had to say something to break the silence between us, anything to make him move away, because he was standing too close to me. It was becoming awkward, and it felt wrong.

"I know," he said simply.

"My arm hurts."

"I had to break it to stop you from going back in the house."

"Why would I go back in the house? I thought that since you're the one provoking me..."

"I am the son of Sparda," Vergil said, and finally moved back a little. His face hovered before mine, and there was a playful look on it that I haven't seen in a long time. "And humans are easier pawns to slay."

"But... is Lorry okay?" I asked, shocked.

"They're fine. I stopped you, I told you," Vergil said, and straightened out my hurt arm. "It will heal before we get home. Come with me now. I'll take you home."

I ended up curled into a small ball on the front seat of Vergil's bike, because my arm made it difficult for me to steer my own. I felt self-conscious with his body half draped over mine when he drove us home, and I kept my eyes straight on the big ball of fire leaping and bounding in the road right ahead of us. Rambo would toss a look at us behind him every now and then. I was overly happy when we finally got home and Vergil helped me off the bike. He had a key to the house because the rooms were pitch dark and silent.

"Thirsty?" Vergil asked quietly when we entered the front foyer.

"Yeah."

"I'll go make us some tea."

"Is that you, Verge?" Dante appeared at the bottom of the staircase, squinting at us in the dim moonlight. "Where the hell'd you... Cora?"

"What?" I said.

"How'd you... why... what... tch," Dante crossed the floor between us and wrapped his arms around me. "I thought you weren't coming back."

"I wasn't," I admitted.

"Lemme guess. Vergil _forced_ you to come back, right?" Dante said unhappily.

"No," I said.

"We had a little discussion," Vergil said when I didn't go on. "Cora saw that it's in her best interests to return home tonight."

"Good," Dante murmured into my hair, and I felt warm and safe in his embrace. "Good, good, good."

"I shouldn't have been the one to run after her," Vergil said, coldness creeping back into his voice.

"Maybe not, but she wouldn't have come home if I went to get her. She only listens to you," Dante said to Vergil's retreating back. His brother responded with a short wave of his fingers.

"Guess that's the benefits of being a control freak," Dante said under his breath, and pulled away from me. "Don't do this again. Next time neither one of us will come after you, and if you come crawling back I'm going to kick the door in your face."

"You'd kick the door in my face?" I asked, unsure whether to be hurt or angry at his comment.

"Yeah, see it as payback," Dante said lightly.

"Payback for _what_?" I asked, following him down the dark hallway to the kitchen.

"I asked you to stay, and you denied me. It hurts, y'know."

"Okay. I'm sorry?"

"You don't sound sorry. Who says sorry with a question mark?"

"Well it's kind of hard to take this seriously what with you being all drama queen."

"Drama queen?"

"It's not that dark, Dante. I can see you trying to poke your finger through your chest. And your goofy face. Stop pulling your face at me!"

"I'm not! This is my face! When did your eyes get so good anyway?"

**~...~**


	24. Oh shit!

**Eh... I hate putting these time warps in, but I will anyway to save confusing anyone (including myself):  
**  
_One year later..._

The iced fragments of winter melted under the breath of spring. It was that time of year when the air felt fresher and the sky looked bluer, and everything that had died in winter was reborn in green splendour. It was also that time of year when the boisterous tweeting of sparrows mating in the sycamore tree right outside my open bedroom window would wake me up early on a Saturday morning. I grunted and flipped over in bed to look at the bedside clock. I sighed and pinched my eyes closed at the digits winking back at me. Not even double figures yet. Damn it!

I tried to go back to sleep, even though I knew I wouldn't be able to. The soft sunlight peeking through my curtains coaxed me into a welcoming embrace for the day ahead. I resisted getting out of bed, and rolled onto my back to listen to the household sounds. Eva was outside in the garden. I could hear metal slicing into dirt, the distinct scent of fresh soil being worked over, and the delicate, heady aroma of a Jasmine creeper. You'd think it's weird that I can hear and smell that through thick solid walls from a second story window, but it wasn't that far-fetched if you considered I was still changing into some unchartered kind of demon.

Dante wasn't home. Even though I could smell his distinct scent in the house, and sense an aura identical to his downstairs, I knew it wasn't him. If the house was quiet, it meant Dante was out.  
_Okay, just get up_, I thought. It took a lot of energy for me to get out of bed. Whatnot with exams finally having ended the day before, it was no wonder I was as buggered as I was. I slipped into a pair of jeans I'd worn the day before and pulled on a white Victorian sleeved blouse I'd gotten as present from Lorry. It had seen the outside of my closet maybe twice since my sweet sixteen the year before.

I contemplated what to do with myself on my way down the grand staircase. Joining Eva wasn't an option because I didn't exactly like getting my hands dirty. Dante was who knows where doing who knows what, and I didn't quite feel up to another devil boy hunt. I wonder what Lorry was up to today...

My thoughts shielded themselves behind a mental blockage of everything nasty I could think of when I breezed into the kitchen. The room was a pleasant warm from the sun flooding inside through the tall windows, and a loaf of freshly baked bread stood on the counter of the breakfast nook. Vergil sat behind the counter with a cup in his hands. I brusquely glanced at the couple of thick, ancient-like books open on the table beside him, before I went over to the kettle to make myself a cup of tea.

I stared out the kitchen window, keeping my back to him, and watched Eva working while I waited for the kettle to finish boiling. She looked like an angel, crouching in the flower bed between the slender stems of violet blooming Irises, the sun's gentle caress turning her hair into a golden halo. A feeling of homesickness settled over me, and for a few long moments I wished that it was my mom out there. The kettle whistled at me, and I pulled myself from my reverie to fix a cup of tea. Well, I guess I'd just go hang out at the club as usual. Not that I preferred the company of demons – not at all – but it was a lot easier than trying to organize a get-together with my friends. Roman always had an excuse ready when I wanted to hang out with him, and Lorry had gotten into the habit of standing me up.

Van was the only friend left, which brought up issues in itself. Issue number one, being Dante's irrational jealousy for me being friends with my ex, and issue number two, in Van's case I actually _did_ rather prefer demon company. With that said, Van was the only one who was still welcoming and accepting of my presence, and he was honest when he told me "the others are scared of you. You haven't been yourself for a long time and there's just, I don't know man, like some kind of vibe about you that's different, you know, I mean hell Cora, when you get mad everyone shits themselves because you turn into some kind of demon".

A sharp pain twitched in my temple, and I instantly filled my head with disgusting images of roadkill with puss and maggots, and black sticky hairballs like the ones we're constantly extracting from the clogged up pipes.

I sat down on the stool opposite Vergil and leaned my back against the wall before looking him in the eye with all the ice I could muster. It was only a second before he lowered his gaze back to the books, and the sharp twitch in my temple stopped. The silence between us was heavy and thick. It had become habit to keep communication between us at a bare minimum, except when Eva or Dante were present. We could carry a decent, civilised conversation, but there was no point.

Vergil had figured out how to control me – or rather the thing I was becoming – as easily as I could control other demons. If Vergil said 'eat my shorts' I would very well eat his shorts, because the power within his words compelled me to obey immediately without hesitation. Lucky for me, Vergil wouldn't dream of quoting Bart Simpson. Unluckily, I was unable to actively resist his commands, because they were never phrased as orders. It was the tone of his voice that did it, and I'd only realize afterward that he'd been pulling my strings and steering me in the direction he wanted.

I eyed the books he was poring over now. He knew what demon it had been that hurt me as a child and set off this hellish nightmare. I was convinced he knew, because how else did he know how to control me? It was those books of his to blame. He was forever reading, constantly with his nose in one or the other book, always the sort of books that had names in dialects I couldn't even begin to decipher. I ought to just burn down Sparda's study; make a nice big bon fire with all those books.

The backdoor squeaked open and Eva came gliding through the kitchen, her pretty face flushed deep red. "Good morning you two."

"Good morning," I said.

"Morning," Vergil said.

"Have you got anything planned for today?" Eva asked, rinsing her grimy hands in the kitchen sink.

"I'm going to meet up with a friend of mine," I said.

"I'm making use of the temporary peace bestowed on us before the terror returns," Vergil said.

"Oh? Where has Dante disappeared to then?" Eva asked, drying her hands on a cloth and turning to us with a worried frown.

"Does it matter?" Vergil asked, finally lifting his eyes from the books to look at Eva.

"I suppose not. I thought you had a date at the park, though," Eva said, looking at me expectantly.

"A date?" I repeated blankly. "I didn't get the memo for that one."

"Right," Eva said, flustered. She straightened her skirt out, and stood awkwardly for a second. "Fine, I must have misunderstood then. I'm going to go get cleaned up."

"Eva!" I leapt off the stool and followed on her heels as she scurried up the hallway, curiosity driving me. "What date?"

"Nothing...nothing. Don't worry about it," Eva waved me away. "He just said today was possibly going to be the best day for you."

"For me?" I asked, standing still and watching her climb the stairs.

"For both of you."

"What did he say, Eva?"

"I told you, honey. He said 'tomorrow is going to be the best day we've had in a while'. Or something like that," Eva said, and then she disappeared at the top of the stairs.

"In a while?" I repeated to myself. "So, what's that supposed to mean? And I thought things were going good with us anyway."

I went back to the kitchen to finish my tea and grabbed a plate to make myself some toast for breakfast. Eva's words were still milling over in my head, and paranoia sunk its talons into me. In a while? Was there something I missed? Something I took for granted, and turned an ignorant blind eye to? I searched my memories feverishly for anything that should have given me the signal that things weren't exactly top notch with me and Dante, because as far as I was concerned, things were over and above good with us. Heavenly, if you could use that term in context with devils.

I reflected on the times we've shared – the regular dates into town, the warm cuddling, the exhilarating kisses, the pranks at school, the all-nighters we often pulled to talk about intimate matters we couldn't discuss with anybody else. It all looked so good, so perfect – what was I missing? The recollection of occasionally swatting Dante hard over the head or punching him in the gut when he sneaked a naughty move in hit me the same instant the sharp twitch started up in my temple again.

My cheeks flushed bright red even as I brought down a wall of red hot fire to shield my thoughts, and I turned around to hurl the plate with my toast across the room at Vergil. It flew past his shoulder, missing him by inches, but he didn't flinch.

"Fuck off," I spat at him.

"I wanted to see what you made of Dante's cryptic message," Vergil said lightly.

"You couldn't just ask?" I snapped coldly.

"I don't need to," Vergil said.

I pressed my fingers to my head. The pain was spreading across my forehead to my other temple, crawling with slow, sharp stabs. "Stop it or I'm calling Eva."

"By all means, please do. I'm certain she'll love to hear that you're losing your mind."

"The day I lose my mind is the day I actually try to kill you," I said, and deliberately blanked my mind.

I glared at Vergil triumphantly, and physically recoiled against the kitchen sink when the stabs of pain opened into a full out, ruthless hacking attack. The blank surface in my head exploded into shards and memories were slashed open to bleed images into my head. I pressed my palm hard against my head, pinched my eyes closed, and gritted my teeth hard to keep the instinctive whimper of pain locked down in my throat.

He pulled my hand away from my head and forced my chin up to look him in the eye. "I've got all the right cards in my hand, Cora. Don't try to beat me at my own game," Vergil said.

"Get out of my head!" I shrieked back.

Vergil's grip on my chin turned firm, and the smirk on his face was pure evil. "Or what are you going to do, hit me with a pan?"

"Are you patronizing my girl again?"

Vergil stepped away from me abruptly and I sucked in a deep breath of relief. Dante came sauntering into the kitchen, striking a casual pose with his hands in his pockets and his steps slow. His lips were pursed together, and he was looking at Vergil with a disturbing glint in his eye.

"Define patronizing," Vergil responded.

"Vergil," Dante said meaningfully.

Vergil blinked, and scowled back at him. "Don't start a war you can't win."

"I'm not starting anything," Dante said innocently, coming over to lean against the sink beside me. "So what were you guys doing?"

"None of your concern," Vergil said.

"I was talking to her," Dante cut back.

"We were trying to speculate what you had hidden up your sleeve," Vergil said, and shrugged, the tension easing out of him. "As I'm sure Cora will tell you."

Dante looked at me questioningly, and I managed a small nod before looking down at my feet in defeat. "Yeah, we were trying to figure out your riddle." I looked up at him uncertainly. "I thought we were okay."

"I don't have anything against you and Vergil playing buddy-buddy," Dante said.

"No," I groaned. "I mean you and me, you idiot."

"Yeah," Dante said and frowned at me. "We're cool. You'd know if we weren't, Cora."

"Then what did you mean today was going to be the best day we've had in a while?"

"Uh..." Dante trailed off, staring down at the floor and scratching the back of his head for a second. He dropped his hand to his side, and peered at Vergil cagily. "I overestimated how things were going to go down."

"Where were you?" Vergil asked.

Dante hesitated for an agonising long moment, before drawing out a large sword hidden in the folds of his leather coat. It looked meaty, like it was a breathing organism rather than a weapon. Vergil froze as Dante readjusted his grip on the hilt.

"How did you do it?" Vergil finally broke the confusing silence.

"It wasn't that hard to do. You had everything researched and planned. I just went with it," Dante said. "I just thought I'd get in, get it, and get out. This one's yours, by the way."

I watched Dante toss a gold rimmed red pendant at him. Vergil caught it, and stared down at it disbelievingly before taking a step toward him.

"Give it to me," Vergil beckoned for the sword, and Dante handed it over readily. Vergil studied the sword closely for a moment, and turned fierce eyes on his brother. "What do you mean you overestimated things?"

"I mean, if we let that thing out of our sight," Dante pointed at the sword, "We're dead, because every fucking demon in the underworld is after it."

"What are you saying?" Vergil asked, furrowing his brow.

"I'm saying I pissed off Mundus and now he's got the entire demon realm gearing up to hunt us down," Dante snapped. "What, am I speaking Latin or something? What the hell do you think I mean when I say I overestimated things?"

"You _saw_ him?" Vergil nearly dropped the sword, staring at Dante with round eyes. "Did you fight him?"

"Are you completely off your rocker?" Dante demanded angrily. "Of course I didn't _fight_ him, where's your head at, Vergil? This is _Mundus_ we're talking."

There was a tense moment of silence between them. I've never seen Vergil look at Dante like that before, like he was envious of Dante, and genuinely awestruck by something so reckless and stupid that Dante had managed to survive. Dante extended his hand suddenly.

"Give me the sword."

Vergil lowered the sword and took a step away from Dante insolently.

"I'm not playing around. Give it, or I'll take it off you," Dante growled.

"We both know I'm the better swordsman. I should keep it," Vergil said.

"Maybe when Hell freezes over," Dante shot back, advancing on his brother. "And believe me, that's not gonna happen any time soon."

"Why did you not ask me to go with you?" Vergil asked, slowly retreating as Dante walked up to him.

"I didn't need you," Dante said gruffly. "Hand it over or I'm going to shoot you."

"I asked you numerous times to go with me," Vergil said, swinging the sword up to keep Dante at bay. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that the thought to reciprocate that never occurred to you."

"I just didn't feel like having you crash my party, that's all," Dante said, grabbing the blade of the sword. I cringed at the thick crimson blood that instantly gushed from his curled fingers. "I work better on my own."

"You can't have it," Vergil said, trying to draw the sword away from Dante's grip. He only succeeded in cutting Dante's palm even more. The gush became a river, streaming down the blade and dropping to the floor in a waterfall of blood. "It belongs to the son of Sparda!"

"And what am I, a stray he picked up off the street?" Dante fired back.

"You hated him."

"Yeah? That's the excuse you're running with?"

"Stop it you guys," I spoke up. Things were escalating to a dangerous height. The boys hadn't ever spoken about Sparda since he left – and that's when I realized exactly what sword it was they were bickering about.

"I've earned this."

"What makes you any more worthy of holding that damn thing than me?"

"I understood our father, for one!"

"Yeah, so did I! Just because I didn't agree with him doesn't make me brain-dead!"

"You're not ready for this."

"Vergil, give it up. There is no way you can control that power."

"I'll prove you wrong."

"Dude, don't make me hurt you."

"What is going on in here?" Eva's voice jolted both boys.

Dante was the first to recover, and I stifled a surprised cry when he suddenly head-butted Vergil right in the chest, sending his twin staggering off balance. He wrenched the sword free from Vergil's grip at the same time, and sheathed it on his back alongside Rebellion with a cocky grin on his face.

Silence screamed through the kitchen as the boys measured one another up, revving up for what I could only imagine would have been a very bloody, very brutal war. They seemed oblivious to everything else – it was just them, and that sword.

I exchanged looks with Eva, and the seething anger swirling within her fuelled the flare I felt in myself.

"You went to the demon realm that Sparda sealed off from this world? The one Sparda _abandoned_ you for?" I erupted, slapping Dante out of his death-glare match with Vergil. "Are you out of your fucking mind?"

"Hey, watch it," Dante said in annoyance, turning his glare on me.

"All that work he had to do, and you went and screwed it up...you're just as bad as he is!" I said, jerking my finger in Vergil's direction. "You're coocoo in the damn head! What the hell were you thinking, Dante? Now you've got Mundus on your ass, too! Wonderful, that's just so clever you should get a reward for being the biggest moron in both realms!"

"I wasn't counting on him being there!" Dante said, his voice raising a few notches.

"Oh, come on! We're talking the demon realm here! How could you not expect him to be there?" I said.

"You're getting on my last nerve," Dante snarled at me.

"And you're getting on mine," Eva said, appearing beside me like a saviour in my moment of need. "Give me Sparda's sword."

"_Mother_," Dante said helplessly, shifting away from her.

"I said-" Eva broke off when Vergil soared past her with a war cry of sorts.

I stood back when Dante whipped out Rebellion to block the attack, his face the picture of total surprise, and then stubborn resolve as he retaliated with his own swings. Yamato deflected each swing almost mockingly. They were moving too fast, spinning and leaping, the swords themselves nothing but white blurs cutting through the air – a deadly dance I couldn't quite follow.

The second they stopped, swords engaged in a heated power lock, Eva and I intervened. I literally rammed my entire body into Dante's, sending him stumbling a few steps back, and then I clung to him hard, using myself as a buffer to keep him away. A glance over my shoulder showed Eva straining to hold Vergil back, her arms wrapped around his waist from behind.

"Stop it! Enough, the both of you!" Eva hollered angrily.

Her words only seemed to make it worse. Vergil struggled against her for another moment before shrugging her off like a clump of dust on his shoulder, and Dante physically moved me aside. The brothers started to charge one another once more, and I managed to rip Sparda's sword off his back in time. Dante stopped mid-rush and spun around to face me angrily.

"Hey!"

"Eva!" I squealed, backing away from the two furious half devils advancing on me, holding the sword ready to defend myself if I had to. "_Eva!_"


	25. Hellish Lust

Eva shot across the room toward me like a bolt of gold and took the sword off me. She turned to face the boys squarely, her chin held high – and her eyes were wet. The boys instantly lowered their weapons. The first thought that popped into my head was that Eva had resorted to tears to weaken them, seeing as shouting and physical restraint had done nothing to end this feud.

"You are not little children," Eva spoke, the disappointment clear in her tone. "I shouldn't have to remind you what the house rules are. Whether Sparda is here or not, you will still abide by them."

Dante's gaze lowered to the floor guiltily, but Vergil stared her down with resilience. "He would want me to have it."

"And if you can't abide by the rules," Eva said and swallowed hard. "Then you know where the door is."

Dante's head snapped up and he looked at Vergil tensely. "We'll stop fighting, mother."

"As soon as you give me Sparda's sword," Vergil agreed.

"You can have it the day I die, Vergil," Eva said tersely. "Before then it will remain in my possession. Is that understood, or do you want to debate me about this?"

Vergil said half-heartedly, "As you wish."

"Good," Eva said shakily, and wiped at her tears. "Go to your rooms immediately."

Vergil left the kitchen first with a slow, angry stride. Dante trudged in his wake a minute later. I was about to follow when Eva grabbed my sleeve and held me back. "Cora, wait a minute."

I obeyed and looked at her expectantly. For a long time, all Eva did was to stare at the sword in her hand. She finally leaned it up against the cupboard beside her, and folded her arms across her chest slowly before looking at me.

"I need you to take it back."

I stared at her blankly. "Take what back?"

"Sparda's sword. I need you to take it back."

I chewed my lip and waited for the shock to wear off a bit before I could trust myself to speak. "Why me?"

"No one knows who you are. You'll have the advantage of slipping in under their radar and redoing what Sparda has done."

"Eva, you're doing crazy talk. I don't know where Dante found that sword, and I don't even know what Sparda did, exactly," I shook my head feverishly.

Eva was shaking her head too. "But I do, Cora. I will help you open the seals to the demon realm, and I can give you the exact location to put the sword, and what to do, and I will be waiting for you to return so that we can seal the tower gate together."

"I thought Dante opened all the seals," I said weakly.

"And so he closed them again when he was done. Dante does everything as thoroughly and efficiently as Vergil, even if he does play around a lot more," Eva took hold of my hands pleadingly. "But the tower, the hell gate that was once used to merge the human world with the demon world, it's open. It can't be sealed without great power, and right now, we have that power right here."

I looked at the sword next to us, and felt my heart start a sick thudding in my chest. "What does that mean?"

"It means we have to go fix things before all hell breaks lose."

"Why not send Dante to do it?"

"Look, Cora, I know you're afraid. I'm frightened too," Eva said softly, and her eyes filled again. "I'm scared that they're going to come after Dante now that they know Sparda has a son."

"They didn't know?" I asked too loudly, stunned. "How could they not know about Dante and Vergil?"

"Sparda handled it," Eva said. "But he's not here to take care of this mess. Unless we stop Mundus from destroying the seals, by sealing the demon realm once more, he's going to come after us. We _will_ be the first to die."

"Why can't we just fight him off if this power is oh so great?"

"Only Sparda can wield its true power. The boys can use it, but it will be too strong and it will destroy them," Eva said. "Will you help me? _Please_?"

"Eva, how the hell do you even know all these things?" I whispered in disbelief.

"Sparda prepared me for this, a long time ago when the boys were still small. And Vergil's notes helped refresh my memory a bit," Eva added. "Will you do this for us?"

"Okay," I forced the word out.

**~...~**

"Okay, okay, okay, I got it," I said nervously, shifting from one foot to the other. "If you have to tell me the coordinates one more time I think I'm going to go all-out demon on you."

We were standing on the platform that was the roof of the Temen-ni-gru, or according to Eva it was the roof. We were underground in a place so black and silent that I thought I was going to go stark raving mad. If it hadn't been for the lit torch Eva was waving around, I probably would have.

"Alright," Eva sighed heavily. "You know where to go from here. Be wary at all times, and hurry."

"Okay, okay," I muttered, getting to my feet.

"And Cora? Remember who you are," Eva said. She looked scared – but then she hadn't stopped being scared since that morning when Dante brought Sparda's sword into the kitchen – and she looked sceptical all of a sudden.

"Save the melodramatic goodbye for another time," I said frivolously. "I'll be back before you know it."

**~...~**

It turned out I was wrong, in the end. Not that it came as much of a shock. I would blame it on time running differently in the underworld, but that wouldn't be any more true than what could be said about time in the human world. When things were bleak, time dragged. When things were good, time flew. In the underworld, time would sometimes stand still, other times it would go by too fast for memory to recall.

There were moments that I nearly forgot my purpose in the demon realm. It took stumbling onto Mundus recruiting a legion of higher up demons to remind me why I was there. I'm not a greedy person. I'm not a greedy person. I don't know how many times I told myself that. Eva's dramatic last words only made sense to me when I found myself consumed with an irrational desire to keep Sparda's power as my own. I lost count how many times I had to fight the urge not to try tap into the brimming power in my hands.

Several times I'd turned around and started back toward the gate to the human world, my intentions dark, selfish, and evil; every time I heard Eva's words resonate through my mind, turning me around to go undo what Dante had done. But the look – oh, if there was a God that took pity on demons, I would pray for it – the look on Vergil's face if he could see me beholding Sparda's power. Oh, the look would be worth it; it would be worth millions of lives, worth the destruction, worth the despair I would cause. Then again, maybe not.

Eva was still there when I finally emerged from the demon realm. Her eyes were haunted and weighed down with heavy purple bags, her hair was dishevelled and she looked as white as a ghost. She flung her arms around me and burst into heart-breaking sobs as soon as she noticed me. A second later she pulled away from me and tried to wipe away the flowing tears.

"You've done it!"

"I thought we had to cast some spell to seal this thing?" I said.

"Yes, yes. Come, let's finish this."

Eva wasn't quite herself. She was trembling, looking extremely jittery, and she snapped at me a couple of times when I didn't understand the instructions she gave me. We were both thankful to leave that place when we were done, and the orange sunrise was a welcoming embrace back home.

The problem was that it didn't feel like home. Strangely enough, I'd felt far more at home in the demon realm. I didn't belong here in this world.

"You ran into trouble," Eva said when we got into her car, parked behind an old burnt down chapel, and headed homeward.

"Kind of."

"You did do it, didn't you?"

"Yeah," I said, and gave her a small, reassuring smile. "I felt like Merlin."

"Who?" Eva asked, confused.

"The sorcerer. You know, the Excalibur, Merlin, King Arthur?" I prodded. "Big mighty sword stuck in a hunk of rock?"

"Oh, yes, I see," Eva said. She put her hand on mine briefly. "You did excellent, Cora."

"Thanks." If you only knew the things I was thinking of doing.

We didn't speak again until we were on the lonely track of road leading to the Sparda fortress. "You're alright, aren't you?" Eva said.

"I just feel weird," I said, and shrugged off her worried glance. "It's normal, right? Crossing from one world to another, it'll make you feel funny?"

"I've never been to the demon realm," Eva said quietly.

"I feel like something came out with me."

Eva paled even more. "What do you mean? Like you're being watched or followed?"

"No. It's hard to explain but... there was something familiar about the underworld. Just a feeling I got. And it came here with me. I mean, I don't feel it right this very moment, but it definitely followed me."

Eva said nothing. We were pulling up in front of the house in time to catch Vergil and Dante just getting off their bikes. Vergil whirled around when he heard the car and he started toward us. Dante sent one look our way and leaned back against his bike, pressing a hand up to his face. Vergil wrenched Eva's door open before the car had even come to a complete stop. Worry entwined with immense relief blazed across his face, and his eyes were brighter and lighter than I ever remember them being.

"You didn't... where..." Vergil choked the words out, and then he did something I never would have thought possible. He crouched down and leaned against the seat as if his legs could no longer support him, and he put his head in Eva's lap – and he cried.

Vergil breaking down in tears was a far more terrifying experience than any I encountered in the underworld. I sat and stared at his heaving shoulders, too shocked to move. Eva was bent over him, soothingly rubbing her hand over his back.

She was whispering to him, but her words were lost to me under the shattering sobs emanating from Vergil. I jerked around in my seat when my door opened suddenly, and I stared into a pair of livid blue eyes. It felt like an eternity that we stared at each other; the horrors of hell I'd been subjected to reflected in his gaze. I could breathe again when Dante tore the connection and looked at Eva.

"It's gone?" Dante asked in a clipped tone.

Eva breathed out quietly. "If I ever catch either of you dabbling with your father's business again, I will disown you."

"That's a bit harsh."

"No, what is harsh is your recklessness, Dante," Eva sliced back at him coldly. "You don't know how close we came to the end of the world."

"You don't know that my world _would_ have ended if anything happened to either of you," Dante cut back heatedly. "B'sides, I put my stupidity down to my humanity. You're indirectly to blame for this."

"I beg your pardon!"Eva said dangerously quietly.

"Ya heard me," Dante growled. "Humans aren't exactly the sharpest species."

Vergil had straightened to his haunches, strained and pale, stunned out of his emotional breakdown. "Dante, enough."

"Yes, that is quite enough from you," Eva said angrily. "After what you've done..."

"Like I said, it's my human intellect to blame. I would have taken the damn sword back myself. There was no need for you to get involved and put yourself in danger," Dante interrupted.

"Evidently there was a great need for it. I would never have let you go back there, Dante..."Eva shook her head.

"Why? Because you can heal from serious injury? Rather you than me? If that's the game you're playing at, I'm not falling for it," Dante fumed.

"The demon realm is no place for-"

"Oh, but it is for young girls and mortal women?"

"No, I didn't say that-"

"It's what you're implying," Dante snapped. "I don't care who the hell you think you are or what you think you know, you are _human_ and that was fucking stupid. If you pull any shit like that again, I'll lock you in an infirmary, got it?"

There was a stumped moment before Dante took hold of my hand and gently tugged me out of the car. He leaned back down to spit at them both, "If I catch either of you using Cora again, there will be blood."

I felt a throb of warmth at his words, and yielded willingly when he led me toward the front door.

"Dante!" Vergil shouted behind us.

Dante ignored him. I hurried to keep up with him when we headed down the hallway and through the backdoor out into the backyard. He pulled me into the tyre truck swing with him, and we tucked our legs out of sight. His arm came down around my shoulders and I slipped my own around him. He huddled up to me tightly, and then we just sat quietly. I'm happy he didn't ask me what happened, because I didn't want to recount the things I'd seen. I'm glad he didn't ask me how I was feeling either, because I figured he probably already knew the answer to that.

The wind gently swayed the swing. It was a comforting sensation, like being rocked back and forth. The companionable silence was disrupted when Dante released a bad-tempered sigh. "I wasn't that hard on her."

"No, you weren't. But she was only trying to protect you guys."

"I know, but it was stupid of her. If you died..." Dante trailed off.

"I didn't, that's all that matters," I pointed out. "You should tell her you're sorry. She didn't deserve the insults."

"She knows that."

"C'mon, Dante, it's your mother."

"Yeah. I'll make it up to her somehow. Still, if you'd gotten hurt," Dante tilted my chin up to look me in the face. "What the hell were you thinking agreeing to her crazy plans anyway?"

"How could I say no? Either I did it, or she did it, and then we wouldn't have Eva walking around the house right now."

"But where the hell is the sanity?"

"There is no sanity in this household," I mumbled, resting my cheek against his chest and running my fingers along the faint lines of abdominal muscles taking shape beneath the smooth pale skin. Looks like his workouts were starting to pay off. "You know what a shirt is, don't you?"

"Hmm. I wish you didn't."

"Shut up," I smacked him in the gut and straightened up to look at him. "Did you know you guys were a big secret?"

"Me and Verge? Yeah."

"I've never seen your brother cry before," I said after a moment.

"Scarier than hell, right? I'm gonna ride this one for a while," Dante said nonchalantly.

"Oh, don't be an ass. You'll just make him resent his human side even more," I said.

"Who said it was his human side?" Dante arched an eyebrow.

"Devils never cry, Dante."

"Maybe, but Vergil is a wuss through and through. He's that one devil that does cry."

"I don't think so."

"Any katana wielding dipshit who believes he's _it_ class as a wuss. He's nothing without his toothpick."

"You're an idiot," I said, playfully messing up his hair before cuddling up against him.

We watched the spring breeze tug the last dead leaves from the sycamores in the yard, savouring the peacefulness nature brought with it. My eyes were heavy and drooping shut as sleep came to claim me.

Dante's arms tightened around me. "Did you see him there?" He asked softly.

His words barely registered in my sleep-disorientated mind. "Who?" I whispered under my breath.

"Sparda."

The name echoed across the ragged terrain, disturbing the fiery heat waves that made up the air. A thousand voices uttering the single name; voices that sounded like hollow drums, cracking glaciers, and spirit bells. A frightening, monstrous cacophony filled with a terribly deep, evil hate that chilled my blood and made my ears ring. _Sparda...Sparda..._ And there was so much blood...so much pain... so much horror in the glazed eyes of the humans who fell victim to their greed... and the screams were the worst. Screams that no animal or human could possibly make; screams laced with terrifying sorrow and rage... the chant changed, and I felt an icy shudder rake through my body._ Cora...Cora...traitor...traitor..._

"I'm not!" The sound of my own voice jolted me awake. I blinked at the bright mid-day sun in momentary confusion, before feeling my cheeks flush in embarrassment when I realized I'd been speaking loudly in my sleep. I sent a shy glance beside me, only to find that I was alone. Well, good, the last thing I wanted was Dante riding _me_ for being a sleep-talker.

I stretched my legs slowly, and cautiously climbed out of the swing. I stopped short when I realized Vergil was waiting for me. Bare foot, dark tailored pants, and his black vest open, he was leaning against the bark of the tree. There was blood mist on him – on his face, his arms, on his chest – the kind that was created when savagely beating something to death. There was a nasty snarl on his face, and I stood paralysed when he stalked up to me.

That's when I noticed Dante lying face down near the back door; his skull was smashed open from what I could tell, and he wasn't moving. There was a blood smeared hand print against the glass door, as though he'd tried to push it open before he died. I tore my gaze from Dante's still form when Vergil reached me, filling my vision.

His entire being screamed out trembling violence, but his hands were startlingly soft when he cupped my face almost lovingly, and he pressed his shaking lips to mine in a passionately tender way that rivalled even Dante's kisses. He pulled back a little after a minute, and his lips brushed intimately against mine when he whispered huskily, "It's mine."

I ripped away from him abruptly with a strangled cry, and found he'd locked me against him with his arms. I struggled, and screamed, and clawed, and kicked against him, terrified out of my mind. He didn't let go. And then he was suddenly peering into the swing at me with a curious frown, and adrenaline gave me that extra boost of strength to increase my fight. I broke free of the arms keeping me entrapped, and fell headfirst out of the swing. I scrambled across the grass, beside myself with pure terror. I couldn't get to my feet because my legs were sponge, and in my bewildered state I heard Eva shouting my name from the kitchen window. I turned toward it, and felt my muscles lock and tremble when Vergil started toward me.

"_No!_" I shrieked the word over and over, because nothing else made sense, and the rest of my vocabulary had been erased from my shaken mind.

Dante appeared behind Vergil, his face set in stony resolve. His head was whole, and he edged toward me cautiously, flagging me down with his hands. "Take it easy, Cora. Easy, easy." He soothed.

I stared at him so hard that my eyes started to hurt. He inched closer to me, and carefully reached his hand out to me. "Come on, babe, it's just me."

I touched his hand, and when my fingers touched his warm skin, I jerked away from him in horrified confusion. "You're... it wasn't real? _It wasn't real?_" I wheezed, looking at Vergil. Bare foot, black pants, and his vest open, exactly like in the dream. No blood. No nasty snarl on his face. And he didn't seem interested in coming any closer to me than he had to.

"It was just a nightmare," Dante said reassuringly, and I burst into tears.

"But I woke up... _I woke up and you were dead_..." I sobbed hysterically.

"I'm not. Look, I'm right here. C'mon, you can punch me if it will convince you," Dante coaxed gently. Then he was in front of me on his knees, and he embraced me securely. "It's okay, babe. I've got you. It was just a nightmare."

He rocked me back and forth, and I cried until my throat burned and my eyes stung. Eva came to offer me a glass of sugar water to calm me down, and only then did I really believe I was awake. Dante never let go of me for the rest of the day. He took me to the lounge and we had ourselves a mini movie-marathon filled with comedies and parodies that was enough to make any one sick with laughter. I couldn't look at Vergil, at all. I was afraid he'd get into my head again, and see what I recollected from the dream, and know what I was feeling when he'd kissed me...

"It's a side effect from the underworld," Dante said later that evening when we were doing the dishes while Eva called in an early night. "The nightmares."

"Figures," I mumbled.

"If you want to talk about it..."

"No."

"Okay."

"Hey," I frowned, packing away a load of clean plates. "Did you ask me about Sparda, before I fell asleep? Or did I dream that?"

"No, I asked you," Dante said.

We both paused to stare at one another. "Why?" I finally forced the question out.

"Because I didn't see him."

"Because he's dead," I said firmly.

"Maybe. Hey, you never know. I had to inherit my toughness from somewhere."

"You think he's alive," I stated blatantly.

"Don't know. That's why I asked you."

"Why would Sparda show himself to me and not you?" I asked.

"Because I'll kick his old ass, that's why."

"Need a hand?" Vergil asked behind us, and I tensed.

"Sure, some strawberry sundae for dessert would be nice," Dante said.

When there was no response, I turned to see Vergil had left us alone. We messed around in the kitchen for a bit longer, filling up the sink with new dirty dishes in our venture to create the ultimate strawberry sundae.

Bedtime ticked around, and I lay in my room for a couple of hours, tossing and turning. I was too afraid to fall asleep. Were nightmares going to be the norm from now on? I eventually gave up trying to sleep in my bed, and decided to sneak into Dante's room. Maybe if I had the comfort of someone else with me, I'd be able to sleep. Besides, it wasn't like he'd mind much.

I stepped into the hallway and quietly closed my door before slowly tip toeing down toward Dante's room. I paused suddenly when I started past Vergil's room and his door opened, trapping me in the rectangle of light flooding from his bedside lamp. He paused too when he saw me right outside his door, and cocked his eyebrows at me.

"I'm going to Dante's room," I whispered. I didn't like the way he was looking at me. It made me feel – exposed.

"Of course you were," Vergil said delicately. "It's just per chance that I caught you outside my door in the middle of the night, I suppose. Coincidence that I happened to open my door just as you were walking past."

My eyes widened at the sarcasm in his voice. "Yeah. What else could it be?" I said indignantly.

Vergil gave a little shrug, and a brief wayward smirk crossed his lips. I found myself staring at his lips, and wrenched myself out of the trance, flushing deeply.

"Is there something you want?"

"What? No," I said, lifting my eyes to meet his. His words secured a blanket of ice around me, made me feel dirty.

"Then why are you idling in my doorway? Do you want to come in or not?"

My breath hitched in my throat, and I stepped away in startled amazement. "Did you just invite me into your room?"

"Allow me to rephrase," Vergil said shrewdly, stepping aside and gesturing into his room. "Would you care to join me?"

I stared past him at his bed – king size, draped in shades of cobalt and navy, a big, soft looking bed, with inviting puffy pillows. I looked at him wide-eyed. "Who are you?"

"Don't be daft," Vergil chuckled playfully. "You're more than welcome, whenever you want."

"I'm pretty sure I'm not sending out messed up signals. I _hate_ you," I hissed at him, hating him even more for making my face heat up like a beetroot.

"Hmm," Vergil said, and I backed up against the second floor railing when he stepped up to me. There was a disturbing twinkle in his eyes, and I literally stopped breathing when he gently pressed his forehead to mine. I lifted my hands to push him away, but his own hands came up to counter it, his fingers weaving through mine like silk. I pinched my eyes closed. It was another nightmare...oh _please_ let this be another nightmare...His lips grazed against mine so softly I barely felt it...It _had_ to be a nightmare...

"Strange, you didn't sound like you hated me at all," Vergil breathed, " When you said my name in your dream today."

Reality crashed over me like gravity pulling all my insides to the floor. I felt sick, and I leaned away from him as far as I could to glare at him. "It was a nightmare, you dick," I shoved him away angrily, and bolted for Dante's room.

My heart was hammering unpleasantly hard in my throat when I closed the bedroom door behind me and locked it. Dante stirred, a black lump beneath the covers of his bed.

"Cora?" He mumbled sleepily.

"Your brother is out of his fucking mind," I hissed, shakily making my way over to the bed in the dark. I slipped under the covers, and the ice Vergil had enveloped me with didn't melt until Dante's arm found its way around me and he pulled me against him.

"Tell me something I don't know," Dante grumbled inaudibly.

**~...~**


	26. The Truth Hurts

"Three of a kind is not a good enough hand."

"Well you keep dealing me crap cards."

"I do not. It's all in the way you play the game..."

"Yeah, whatever."

"Don't be a sour loser," I scolded lightly. Rambo, stretched out on his nominated doggy pillow in the corner of the room, lifted his tail in a lazy attempt to wag it at my playful tone. I gave Dante a little slap on the shoulder. He cringed away from me and I withdrew my hand, sending a quick awkward glance in Vergil's direction.

"I'm sure you're cheating somehow," Dante sulked, pushing the stack of poker chips between us closer to me. The little towers toppled over and the chips bulldozed my own neatly stacked ones over. I bit the inside of my cheek to restrain the words 'that was unnecessary' and timidly tidied them up again while Dante shuffled the cards.

We were seated in our swimwear on the lush carpet in the family den, the bay windows thrown wide open to let fresh air into the heated house. It had been one of the hottest days in ages and we'd gone in to the city's local swimming pool for most of the day. We would have been there until sunset if it hadn't been for the girls flaunting their goodies at Dante like it was some whore convention.

The only downfall about coming home was that the family den was the coolest room in the house - and Vergil had been there first. I didn't have the guts to properly look at him, even less to tell him to piss off. Dante was no help either, since he's resigned himself to pretending Vergil didn't exist. After Eva and I had come back from the Temen-ni-gru, the brothers had a colossal fallout of some sort. I only caught the tail end of it, which was Dante storming out of Sparda's study and Vergil shouting after him 'you can't always have your way, you impudent prick!', which in turn had Eva climbing down Vergil's throat.

And when I say Eva climbed into him, it's putting it nicely, because she tore him apart. Some of what she said went right over my head, other things made more sense to me; supposed to set an example, be the mature one and walk away from a fight instead of instigating it, be more understanding toward Dante because he's had it really tough since Sparda and Vergil both walked out on him, blah blah blah. My own mom used to throw the same garb in my face when I was a kid; not exactly the same, but the principle remained – the one had to suffer to compensate for the other sibling's 'inexperience'. It felt good knowing that not even I'm-better-than-you-scum-Vergil was above that type of ridicule.

I'll admit it, it was a malicious gleeful moment for me. Eva's words had been hard and cut straight to the truth. Vergil had stood tall under Eva's scorn, his face a rock hard mask of sheer indifference, taking the verbal blows like a warrior too proud to flinch; but even I could sense that the words were piercing through his blasé facade.

The brothers hadn't spoken to each other since. It was the quietest week we've ever had; no arguments, no raised voices debating strategic fight moves, no clash of swords. Though at the same time, there hadn't been much laughter either. I hadn't seen Dante smile once, and even if he'd rather be dragged back to hell than confess it, I knew it hurt him and bugged him to no end that Vergil didn't seem to mind the silent treatment. It was usually Vergil who was the more 'adult' twin, who would cave in eventually to satisfy his brother, to keep the peace and make amends.

Glancing at Vergil now, spread out on his stomach on the window bunk with nothing but surfer's baggies on and engrossed in another book as thick as my arm, it was obvious he was relishing in Dante's silent suffering. The tension from a week ago had become nothing but an awkward silence; one that Dante didn't know how to break, so he'd rather carry on ignoring Vergil.

"I don't cheat," I mumbled to Dante. "You just have really bad luck."

"No way. Logically, the odds have to fall in my favour sooner or later."

He dealt the cards, and I picked mine up to view a full house. I snorted at it. "Have the odds ever been in your favour?"

"I don't know. What were the odds of you and me ever hooking up, right?"

He had that endearing look on his face as he said it – the one that I knew meant he was doubting himself and waiting to get an earful from me. Dante had never been too good at sweet-talking. I put my cards down with a sigh. He was never going to beat me at poker, I might as well save him the shameful truth. "I'm bored with this game."

"Should we play Bullshit?"

"Nah," I said, climbing to my feet. "Let's go catch a movie or something."

"I'm strapped for cash, babe," Dante said, not moving from his spot.

"What do you mean?" I asked. "We'll get some change from the biscuit jar."

"There's no money for me in the jar."

"So we'll go by the charity house and ask Eva if she's got anything for us," I said in confusion. Money had never been an issue before. It took me a minute to get my head around what he said, and I dropped my arms to my sides helplessly to stare back at him. "Don't be uptight."

"I'm not. It's not my money. I didn't do fuck knows what to earn it."

"It's _our_ money. That's why it's put in the biscuit jar, so we can grab whenever we need for whatever we need. Right, Vergil?" I said, forcing myself to look at him. When there was no wink of response from him, I lost my rag with them both. "Oh, grow up! You're both above and beyond pathetic, you know that?" I snapped, snatching a pillow off the couch and hurling it at Vergil angrily.

It bounced off Vergil's back, and he lifted his head slowly. "What do you want? Can you not see that I'm busy, or are you going blind?"

I paused for a second when I realized he'd been zoned out and probably hadn't heard a word Dante and I have exchanged. "The money in the biscuit jar, it's for all of us, right?"

"Not that either of you are deserving of it," Vergil said, turning back to his book.

"See? And then you call me uptight," Dante said pointedly.

"Dante just... just shut up and go get ready," I said, scratching my forehead in irritation.

"Yes ma'am," Dante teased and marched from the room.

I waited until he was out of the room before facing Vergil. "You could at least...Vergil. _Vergil_, I'm talking to you."

"Oh for... Cora, can you just leave me be?" Vergil growled dangerously. He lifted his head from the book with what looked like great effort, and gave me a deadly glare.

"Can you just get over it? Seriously, you're acting way more immature than Dante ever has," I snapped and braced myself when Vergil slowly sat up between the bunk pillows.

"_Get over it?_ You're as wretched and dense as they are if you believe this is a matter I can just simply 'get over'."

"So your mom deflated your bubble a bit because why? You thought you were perfect? The untouchable, invincible, all-powerful son of Sparda," I said mockingly, and lowered my voice when his lips quirked into a small, disbelieving grin. "Dante is forever trying to impress you and get your approval, the least you can do is show some empathy toward him."

"If you think this is a simple matter of my self-worth and pride," Vergil said, getting to his feet. "Then you need to get your damn head out of the clouds."

"You're jealous, that's your problem," I bit back.

"Jealous?" Vergil repeated the word as if he'd never heard of it. "Of _Dante_?"

"Just own it up, Vergil. You're jealous of him because he... he goes to school and you don't, and he has more weapons than you do, and he's got a life apart from everything demonic," I stammered out the words, grabbing for any ammo at my disposal.

Vergil cast a glance at the floor, his lips moving but I couldn't make out what he was hissing under his breath. Then he looked up at me with a disconcerting smile. "There is only so much a person can take."

"_You_ chose to walk the walk. You can't blame any of us for your mistake," I said, shaking my finger at him angrily.

He was suddenly in front of me, moving so fast that my eyes couldn't follow, and his fingers firmly wrapped around my wrist. "I don't regret the path I have resigned myself to follow. What drives me up the walls is that there is no grain of _empathy_ shown toward me. I have received no measure of appreciation for my efforts," his grip tightened bruising hard, and his eyes were as sharp and luminous as the core of a flame. "_Everything_ I have done has been taken for granted."

"We don't _need_ you to provide for us. We coped while you were gone, we can take care of ourselves..." I started, wondering whether I should try yank my wrist free or just slap him. He was standing too close to me again, his face inches from mine, but his grave expression held me still.

It wasn't like the fights Dante and I would get into, where we'd be right up in each other's faces and Dante would be provoking me with his cocky, devil-may-care attitude and I'd shriek profanities at him and claw at him until Eva came to play referee. This was nothing like that.

Vergil wasn't out to get me, or make my blood boil over and send me into blank-out-demon-mode. There was anger in his voice and an urgent plea underlying his words. He wasn't hurting me, or trying to scare me either, because there was something earnest in the hellish blue flames burning into my soul.

"Cora, I'm not talking about _money_. What do you think I was doing while I was gone?" Vergil snapped sarcastically. "Taking a stroll through paradise?"

"What exactly are you getting at?"

"Never mind," Vergil dropped my hand and stepped away from me, pushing his hand through his hair. He stared at the carpet for a moment, and sent another look at me before shaking his head and resuming his seat in the bay window.

"You're just going to leave me hanging?" I asked after a stumped moment when he picked the book up on his lap.

"You won't understand."

"Try me!"

"No, thank you."

"Vergil, don't be an ass," I said in frustration. "How am I supposed to show appreciation if I don't even know what the hell you're getting all huffy about?"

"It doesn't matter. Any attempt you make at a display of gratitude will fall flat. It means nothing if you do it half-heartedly and let's face it," Vergil said, giving me a look. "You're the last person who will want to show me any thanks."

"That's your fault for cutting off my hand and scaring the shit out of me. Not to mention your mind-raping ability and control issues-"

"Leave me."

"No."

"This discussion is over. Get out before I remove you myself." Rambo let out a warning growl from his poof bag in the corner of the room, and Vergil threw an icy glare at the hellhound to silence it.

"This is the _family_ den. I have as much right to be here as you do," I protested.

"Do you really?" Vergil said incredulously.

"Yeah!"

"Pfft," Vergil said and turned his attention to the book in front of him. "Delusional girl."

"I'm not any more delusional than you are," I said angrily.

"You don't belong here."

The words hurt and shocked me all at once. Shocked that he would even dare spit that in my face, and hurt that he voiced my thoughts. Those were private feelings I didn't share with anyone and liked to deny any importance to – and to have him say it out loud made them real.

"Stop reading my mind," I said, but my anger had folded up and collapsed into a pool of painful reality. My voice shook, and then the tears threatened to run. I stubbornly looked down when Vergil glanced up at me in surprise.

"It's only the truth. Whatnot with the company you tend to keep outside these walls, you're a liability to this family. You know it, I know it. Why does it bother you to hear me say it?"

I tried to swallow down the lump in my throat. "The company I keep?"

"The demons you ally yourself with at the Hot Spot."

"How'd you know I go there?"

"How I know these matters is none of your concern. You're risking your neck by surrounding yourself with demons sharp of mind."

"Am I really?" I said, and I had to purse my lips to keep them from trembling. "That's funny...because you know what? I feel a lot more at home with them than I do here."

"Do you now?" Vergil said with an indulgent sigh.

"It's hardly surprising seeing as none of them have invaded my privacy or hurt me or threatened to kill me," I said and fiercely looked at him through my blurry vision.

"And why would that drive you to tears? Come on, Cora, you hate me. Why would my opinion and actions matter to you?"

"I don't know, okay!" I sobbed, throwing my hands into the air helplessly.

"Stop crying."

"You're an asshole! I'm not the only one you're hurting, you know!"

"Cora," Vergil said nastily. "You're overreacting. Dante doesn't need me or my approval. He made that clear time and time again."

He leaned forward with his arms on his knees, and said sharply, "Perhaps it would be best for you to join those you feel you belong with."

"Are you... are you kicking me out?" I asked, blinking hard through my tears to focus on him. Yes, yes he was. That face said it all. "You can't kick me out."

"This is my home and my family. I can do whatever I please."

"You can't be serious," I sniffed, shaking my head at him.

I stumbled back when he rose to his feet suddenly and started toward me. "No... Vergil don't..." I didn't know what he was going to do, but the vibes he blasted off were enough to convince me that it was nothing good or pleasant.

I did the only thing I could. I bolted for the front door and managed to wrench a trench coat from the coat hanger before dodging Vergil's outstretched fingers. I ran until I was sure he wasn't following me.

You can't blame me for going where I did. Anyone in my situation would have done the same thing. The underground club loomed in front of me, and only once I sat down and Yt shoved my usual cocktail under my nose, did the question 'why didn't I just call for Dante?' pop into my head. The club was as shadowy and ominous as always, though my eyesight was now better attuned to the darkness. The feral snarls and ferocious screams surfacing from the underground arena was so familiar that it put me at ease, which in itself wasn't right. I had to get out of here. Not just _here_ – I had to get the hell out of town.

"Anythin' else?" Yt asked when I polished off my third drink.

"Hmn. Do you know of a place I can go crash for a while?"

"Depends."

"On what?" I sighed.

"What I get outta the deal. My services don't come cheap."

"Your services?" I asked, finally looking up from my now empty glass to frown at the demon in total bewilderment. "I asked you a question, idiot. If you can't help me, I can ask someone else."

"Maybe, but no one else will be willing to help you," Yt smirked at me knowingly. "They don't take kindly to traitors."

"I'm not a traitor," I said heatedly. "I didn't do anything wrong."

"Yeh, running with the monkeys reeks of suspicion. No demon will lower themselves to the disgraceful association with those intellectually lacking vermin... not unless they are one of the betrayer's fleet." Yt spat the word out with a vile expression on his face.

"If you're any more intelligent than those monkeys then you'd know I only mingle with them because I am still part human. Suspecting somebody of being in league with Sparda when they're not will get you killed, or worse," I said threateningly, and Yt looked away. "Give me another drink."

"Well, look I'll help you out," Yt said, mixing the glowing substance for me. "But it will cost you."

"Name it," I said, reaching for my glass. I froze when his scaly hand clasped over mine, and he leaned across the counter closer to me. His breath smelled funny, like fizzy juice gone stale, and there was a steady, constant hissing noise in his throat.

"You and me..."

I was off the chair and shaking my head at him before he could get his sentence out. I was torn between laughing at him or tossing my drink in his face; I settled for the first because he still held my hand trapped around the base of my glass.

"I'm not that desperate," I said in disbelief. "Let go of my ha-"

He wrenched me closer so hard that I banged my knees into the counter. His other hand roughly grabbed hold of my chin. A thick black split tongue flicked through his lips and snaked down my cheek, and he grinned hungrily.

"I can change your mind," he hissed.

"Back off or..."

"Getting a bit wound up there aren't you, crusty?" A familiar voice spoke up beside me. I was suddenly free of Yt's grip, and then I was looking up into Dante's alarmed blue eyes.

"This has nothing to do with you, halfbreed," Yt jeered in disdain.

"She's my territory," Dante growled back dangerously.

Yt's slit eyes flashed from Dante to me and back. "She came to _me_."

"Yeah, exactly how the hell did you find this place anyway?" Dante asked, turning to me quizzically. He waved me silent before I could answer. "Never mind, let's blow this joint."

"She is not going anywhere..." Yt erupted. "She came to me! Me!"

"Will you shut up?" I glared at him.

"Playing hard to get are ya? I'll get you..." Yt rumbled and I stepped closer to Dante when the demon came leaping right over the counter at me.

There was a whisper of leather, the metal click of a bullet sliding into position, and the barrel of Ivory kissing Yt's forehead. "Don't make me blow your fucking head off," Dante said hastily. "Cora, get the hell out of here."

Demons rose from the tables haloed in darkness around us. I could see them moving in the shadows, hear them revving up to join in if a fight broke out. It didn't go over my head that more than half the demons here have lost many bets to Dante being too good in the fighting ring. They'd rip him apart if he caused any harm to their own.

"You do know each other?" Yt asked, his eyes narrowing in fury.

"Give me Ebony," I said suddenly, looking at Dante.

"What? No," Dante said, casting a quick glance at me before levelling his gaze with Yt once more.

"You tricked ussssss," Yt hissed, turning his full fury on me. "You were in alliance with him! You stole our money!"

"Well what the hell could a demon possibly want with human currency anyway?" I snapped, and slipped Ebony from Dante's back pocket before he could stop me. I aimed the gun at Yt too, and he blinked in outrage.

"What is this dude talking about?" Dante asked idly.

"Impostor! Tell him Ivana, tell the boy who you really are!"

"Iv- Ivana?" Dante repeated, and when he looked down at me, I felt the entire room had suddenly turned against me. Including Dante. "_Ivana_!" He snarled, nearly twice as furious as Yt.

Run. That's what my instincts propelled me to do, and I adhered to them. I fired a shot at Yt's head, and then all hell broke loose as demons melted from the shadows and advanced on us with teeth extended and deadly blades gleaming. I ducked and ran, avoiding several close calls before I reached the emergency exit in the back of the building. I hurled myself out into the street and ran away from the sound of fading gunshots renting the air behind me.

And I never looked back.

**~...~**


	27. The Boy in Black

I woke up on frigid concrete floor and stared up at a cracked and peeling wall. Reflexively my hand shot down to my side, and I relaxed when I felt the familiar grooves of the metal weapon. Misery added to the void within the four walls of the abandoned morgue. Pale streaks of stray sunlight slanted through the grime coated windows, illuminating drifting motes of dust in the stuffy room. I wanted to close my eyes and lose myself in ignorant slumber. I wanted to forget where I was, and why I was here. But my mind was on a hyper rush, and my senses alert. I gazed at the thickly spun cobwebs draping low from the ceiling, and spotted one of the many hairy culprits crawling across the wall. There was no sound but my own steady, quiet breathing.

I used to think it was terrible how homeless people could live on the streets. Walking past the intoxicated old men and starved children in ragged clothing always stirred a twinge of pity inside of me. Not that I ever played the good Samaritan to lend them a penny or two – the men would only spill it on alcohol, and the children would buy glue to sniff. That was what I used to think.

Stepping into their world taught me how wrong my opinion had been. The days stretched on in nightmarish hunger, and the chilled lonely nights were even longer. There was no hope of a saviour coming to free me from the unforgiving street life. It was a jungle, and only those who were stealthy of mind and strong in body survived. It turns out it was partially a saving grace when those more fortunate would ignore you.

The few who would earn a kind, sympathetic loaf of bread or dime became the prime target for everyone else in the same boat. If they didn't devour the bread fast enough, it would be stolen from them; if they did manage to stuff it into the pit of their withering stomachs they had to run like hell to avoid receiving a beating from others that were starved. Money was just as dangerous. You were more likely to end up mugged, or dead, before you even reached the street to the local store. It was a case of everyone for themselves, with no exceptions. Survival of the fittest – or the most desperate.

The difference between me and all the others was that I _had_ a home I could go back to. I had a room with papered walls and downy carpet, I had a bed covered with silk and fleece fit for a queen, I had a cupboard filled to the brim with the newest fashion trends and even school uniforms. Most of the kids out on the street had never even seen the inside of a class room.

And I had Eva – loving, gentle, wise Eva who cared about me like I was her own. And I had Dante. My chest gave a painful twist when the image of his smile skimmed through my mind. I lifted the familiar pistol from my side and examined it, tracing my numbed fingertips along the smooth familiar grooves. I missed him so much it hurt, and even though I knew he was pissed at me for playing him a fool, I knew he'd forgive me. Maybe later rather than sooner, but he would eventually, because he had a heart.

But my situation was irrevocable. I couldn't go back to them, because of one single force that kept me at bay.  
Vergil.

My limbs were stiff and cold from sleeping on the floor. I rubbed a sore spot on my thigh as I climbed to my feet and made my way over to the dirty window. The view outside depicted a small town on the shore.

It was somewhere between Metropolis and the harbour, a little fisherman's village that was so insignificant it had no name. The population couldn't be more than a measly two hundred, more if you counted the occasional rogue demon.

The only thing I had to worry about was Dante finding me. I knew how he was about his toys – he had to be beyond mad that I'd taken his beloved Ebony and disappeared from Metropolis forever.

I grimaced at the thought of the long day that lay ahead. I rolled my shoulders and stretched my strained leg muscles before venturing out into the daylight. I steered close to the walls of the buildings, avoiding eye contact with anyone as I made my way to the neglected park on the outskirts of the tiny town. I was pretty sure that it never saw any company except for me; still I made sure no one was following me. I weaved through the tall yellow grass and scratchy weeds until I came across the slimy green pond. I crouched down, aimed the barrel of the gun – and waited.

Yesterday I waited all day in the heat only to be disappointed with a no show. The day before I waited until mid-noon, and then it had been tiny prey that barely touched the hole in my stomach. Today I was lucky.

A little group of wild ducks came waddling around the pond. I was getting good at aiming, and I leaned my head back when I locked on my target. My eyes flitted to the trio of tiny ducklings, and I hesitated. It would have been convenient if I didn't have to shoot the biggest one, if I could just jump it instead and twist its neck. But I tried that before and I wasn't fast enough, and besides, I didn't know _how_ to snap its neck.

The grouchy growl from my stomach ordered me to act. I found out the hard way that nearly starving to death and growing weak had a severe effect on my demonic transformation. The slightest scrape would tear my skin, the smallest bump would snap my brittle bones. I wasn't in a good place, but I was still alive. I clenched my jaw, pinched my eyes closed, and pulled the trigger.

I bit down on a painful scream while the gunshot echoed forever across the deserted terrain. The gun bucked with far too much force than should be possible for a mere pistol, and I heard bone shatter as it threw me back. Piercing pain blazed up to my elbow and Ebony dropped from my trembling fingers. I gripped my arm, fighting down the urge to release my agony with my voice. Shit, shit, _shit_ it hurt!

Once I could think past the pain –it took a while - I looked up to see if luck played in my favour. It did. Daddy duck was laying on the ground, unmoving, his family having scrammed at the sudden attack. I picked up the weapon and scrambled over to the dead animal. I seized it by one foot, sent another cautious glance around me, and made my way down a ravine to a hidden sewer pipe. My trash barrel was exactly where I'd left it, filled with newspapers, and the lighter I'd chanced upon was on top of it. I got a fire going and sat down. I couldn't move my arm until I felt the almost ticklish tingling that meant it was starting to heal itself.

There was only one word for de-feathering a duck and cleaning out its intestines.  
Gross.  
I stuck a thick branch through the carcass when I was done, and put it across the fire to roast. The entire procedure took all morning, and I only got to demolish my meal early noon. I waited for the fire to burn itself out, contemplating how fast I could move to have a rinse in the public pool.

I'd tried making use of their showers and the hand soap in their bathrooms, but security chased me off like I was some wild monkey.

I was starting to smell though, and my scalp was beginning to itch – and lord help me, it felt like my teeth were growing hair. I couldn't wait it out like last time, because I'd nearly been suffocating myself with my own stench, and people had walked circles around me. Hell, just give it a try.

It felt good to have a stuffed tummy again when I made my way back into town, still staying close to the walls and out of people's path. My eyes fixed on the small convenience store that suddenly appeared in front of me. I slipped inside and kept myself small as I skimmed through the aisles.

Aha! Toothpaste! There _had_ to be a God. I snatched one off the shelf and carefully peeked around the aisle at the front of the store. I waited until the cashier turned his back before slipping out of the store. Things really were going in my favour today – the store had no alarm system, and I made a clean, discreet getaway with my treat.

Getting into the public pool area was another matter altogether. Families were sprawled on the green grass and sun chairs, kids were splashing and laughing in the blue jewel. There was no way I could do this without being seen. I leaned against the wall of the building housing the bathrooms, waiting until I thought no one in particular was watching, and then I sneaked inside with a skip.

I put the gun on the sink carefully. I rushed clumsily to undo the cap of the toothpaste, and squirted too much onto my finger. I scrubbed at my teeth vigorously until the paste was worked into a foam and my finger made squeaky noises. I cupped my hand under the tap and rinsed my mouth quickly, pausing every few seconds when people passed too close to the entrance. I emptied half the container of hand soap mounted on the wall and rubbed it into my dirty dry locks. I was reaching to open the tap again when a figure in uniform appeared in the doorway.

"Hey!" A voice shouted behind me.

I grabbed Ebony and bolted from the bathroom, knocking the guard right off his feet. I did a cannonball into the pool and sank to the bottom. Anyone else in my position would have done the same, or at least thought about doing it. Walking around with greasy hair coated in soap was nearly as bad as choking on your own smell. My chest tightened and my lungs started to burn before I kicked myself up to the surface.

People were staring, kids were squealing in disgust and trying to get out of the pool, and security was running toward me. I hauled myself out of the water, slowed down by the weight of my wet trench coat, and swung myself over the fence, barely escaping the angry clutches of the guards.

I wiped water from my face and ran, glancing over my shoulder only when I heard their shouts growing faint behind me. It was a half-hearted chase and they gave up without really trying, but I didn't slow down until I reached my shelter. I burst into the building, greeted by the lingering smell of dead hair follicles and rat excrement, and leaned against the door with both hands, breathing hard.

It took me a moment before my heart calmed down, and I was sure no one had followed me here.

I dropped my arms to my sides with a sigh, and jerked around when a bark snapped through the room. I staggered away from the mutt that came rushing up to me. My first thought was that it was a wild stray that had somehow managed to invade my home, and I fired a shot at it. I missed, and the sharp backlash from the jolt hurled the gun out of my grasp. The dog bolted away from me in fright with a whine. With its tail tucked between its legs, it padded over to a pair of long legs covered in black jeans.

I only recognized the beautiful fur that moment, and my eyes darted up the figure by which it had sought sanctuary. Dante was unrolling his black sleeves, standing quietly and watching me with weary blue gaze. He looked exhausted. There were bags beneath his eyes, and dust clung to his boots.

It felt good to see him. I couldn't deny it even if I tried. I flung myself against him, completely disregarding the fact that I was soaking wet and smelled like chlorine. I seized his familiar face between my hands, and pressed my lips to his in a mixture of relief and regret. I knew he'd come – not that I was sure whether I wanted him to or not – but I hadn't imagined I would be this happy to see him again.

His mouth was unresponsive at first –hard and remote. I changed the pressure of my lips, withdrawing my impulsive excitement and slowing down the kiss.

His lips softened against mine, angry resolve shattering, and responded to the kiss for a portion of a second before he abruptly broke away. He held me at arms' length, as if he was suddenly afraid of me. His chest heaved beneath his black shirt, and his eyes were dark and guarded.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry I took it, I just couldn't... I couldn't go back home... please don't be mad, here you can have it back..." I stammered in giddy confusion, turning to scoop up the weapon I'd dropped.

Someone else had already beaten me to it. Long slender fingers folded around the gun and gave it a hard shake. Water drops scattered across the concrete floor, and incredulous warm blue eyes moved to the boy behind me before finally locking onto my face.

"Real sweet, Cora. When did you think it was a good idea to take my gun for a swim?" He said. His red trench coat swayed gently when he advanced on me. The world screeched to a disbelieving halt around me.

I spun around and stumbled clumsily away from the boy in black. "_Shit."_

"If it rusts, there will be the devil to pay," Dante added unhappily.

Vergil looked at me steadily with hooded gaze. "Get the girl so we can get out of this hellhole."  
He put his head down and charged from the building, evidently eager to get as far away from me as fast as he could. I stared at his retreating back in shocked revulsion, and scrubbed hard at my lips with the back of my wet sleeve.

"Gah," I said and shuddered when Dante stepped up to me. "You know I didn't..."

"Yeah," Dante snapped, and pinned me to the wall. "Do you want me to invest in a leash?"

"I...what?" I hiccupped.

"Three times, Cora," Dante said, holding up his fingers and waving them in my face. "_Three damn times_."

I shut up and stared back at him blankly. Three times what? He couldn't possibly think that Vergil and I...

"You try to hit the road every single time, and I was too late to stop you this last round," Dante said angrily. "But when shit happens, you have to deal with it. You don't run away."

Oh. _Stupid girl_. I glared at him. "I never asked for any of this."

"Neither did I," Dante shot back heatedly, and reeled back his temper.

"Why is _he_ here?" I asked, nodding toward the door where the vision in black had disappeared through.

"Vergil's got my back."

"He's a bastard."

"Regardless, he's pulled through for me every time I've needed him. I can't say that about you," Dante said and thudded his fist against the wall beside me in frustration. "You run off and leave me in a tight spot when I really need you. And you steal my stuff, no less," Dante said, lifting Ebony meaningfully.

"I was borrowing it. I knew you'd find me sooner or later, so technically it's not stealing."

"You took it without my permission. That's _stealing_."

"I didn't think you'd mind," I backtracked. "I needed something to protect myself with."

"You didn't think I'd mind?" Dante repeated dubiously. "Don't play games with me, Cora. You knew it would piss me off."

I chewed my lip nervously and gloomily stared down at my feet. "Sorry."

Dante let out a slow breath. "Is this where you've been hiding for the past two months?"

"It's only been two months?" I asked, startled, and looked away from his forlorn expression.

"Mom is going to skin you alive when we get you back home."

I shrugged in reply. His fingers were warm and firm against my skin when he forced my chin up. I stubbornly kept my eyes downcast.

"I don't want to be chasing after you again a week from now, Cora. You're either with me, or you're gone. Promise you won't run off again."

"But..."

"Don't try weasel your way out of this," Dante said. "This is my life. Things won't get any better, and they won't change. If you can't deal with the baggage that comes with the package, then maybe we should call it quits here and now."

"Are you serious?" I said and met his gaze in shock.

"I'll drive you to your aunts' place. You can close the door on all this shit and you'll never have to see me again." He meant every word, and it tore at me.

"I couldn't..."

"Yeah, you could."

My heart was thudding unpleasantly hard. I swallowed down the panicked tears playing their way up my throat. "I won't run off again. I promise," I said in a quiet rush.

Dante stepped back and considered me for a moment, his eyes hunting across the length of my body. "I'm going to keep you to that," he said.

I hunched my shoulders and looked down at my bare feet. "Okay."

"Let's go grab some grub before we hit the road," Dante softened.

"They've only got fish here," I said and pursed my lips when he turned to scowl at me.

"Really?"

"It's a fishing community. They've even got fish on the pizza here."

"What the fuck?" Dante asked, grimacing in disgust. "Damn it, I was really hungry."

"How did you track me down?" I asked, shifting my weight from one foot to the other uncertainly.

"Fire-fart over there," Dante nodded, and I looked to see Rambo sniffing at a corner of the room curiously. "He caught your scent."

"It took him a long time, huh?" I said awkwardly, guilt flashing through me. I almost killed my puppy.

"Not really," Dante admitted, and slipped Ebony into her waiting holster fixed around his waist. He held his arms to me expectantly. "No hate, right?"

"Of course not," I said, and stepped into the warm circle of his arms. I held him tight for a minute, savouring the warmth his body provided, and disengaged myself from him before I could soak his clothes too much.

"Rambo, come here, puppy," I coaxed.

"Hey! Vergil got more than that," Dante complained, and I felt my face heat up.

"It's not my fault he looks like you, damn it," I said, giving him a warning glare. "That kiss was meant for you. And for the record, it was awful."

"It couldn't have been that bad," Dante said with a sneer. "I think he liked it too much, actually. I never would have thought I'd see my brother run away from a girl."

"You know I hate him as much as he hates me, don't you?" I said uneasily.

"Yeaaah-"

"Dante, shut it."

"Fine," Dante said, waving his arms in surrender. "It never happened. Forgotten. Want to grab some grub?"

"Uh, fish?" I reminded him.

"Damn, just when I thought I had my appetite back you go and ruin it," Dante teased, shrugging out of his coat and wrapping it around me snugly. "You look like you haven't had any chow for weeks, babe."

"I'm okay," I protested. "I had something today."

"Yeah, what did you have, a cracker?" Dante said, poking me in the tummy.

I cringed away from him. "I had my fill, don't worry."

"If you say so," Dante said and the playful smile tugging at his lips melted away. "I really missed you, you know. Sixty two days is a long time."

"I missed you, too," I said. He pulled me back into his embrace, and hot tears squeezed their way from my eyes and over my cheeks.

I leaned against him, pressing my face into his chest and willing my emotions back under control. My hormones were all over the place, bouncing between anger and joy, fear and relief so fast it was threatening to give me whiplash.

Rambo let out a feral snarl, and my head snapped around to glare at him. "_Down_ boy! Don't be stupid." I barked back at him.

Dante's arms tightened around me, and I felt the tension fall off my shoulders. Dogs and their territorial nature – it would have been funny for Rambo to voice his dislike, if only it wasn't toward Dante. I sighed and lifted my head to tell him to ignore the dog. Dante and Rambo just didn't get along.

"Dante..."

His lips met mine before I could get another word out. The kiss was soft and sweet, and opened up like a slow blooming flower. I gave myself up to it, got lost in the sensation.  
The kiss turned shivery and hot, sending sparks through my mind and setting my body on fire. I felt a slap of relief when he finally ended the kiss, and fondly pressed his cheek to mine.

"We should get going," Dante murmured, and his lips grazed over mine one last time.

"Yeah," I managed breathlessly. He didn't move away – neither of us wanted to - and it took a hell of a lot of will power for me to be the one to put distance between us. _Remove yourself from the situation_, Eva's words sounded through my mind, and I obeyed quickly.

"Come boy, come, Rambo," I called, patting my thigh even as I strolled toward the door.

The sunlight was almost cool on my flushed cheeks when I stepped outside. The burn I was still trying to fight off turned to ice when I spotted Vergil across the street, leaning against the silver Mercedes that belonged to Eva. I stuck in my tracks and waited for Dante to join my side.

"Why'd he have to come with you?" I asked grumpily. Being trapped in a car with Vergil for however long it took to get back home, was on my list of things to avoid by all costs.

Dante gave me a grim glance. "Don't be nasty. It was _his_ idea to come looking for you in the first place."

"Come again?" I said coldly.

"I only started looking for you when you were gone for a week. When I didn't find you in the city, I figured I'd stick it out and hopefully you'll come back home by yourself," Dante said, and narrowed his eyes when I snorted at him. "Vergil kicked me out of bed this morning and told me we're bringing you home today. Good thing, too, else I'd probably have just found a pile of skin and bones left of you."

"I wonder what made him act out of character," I said sarcastically. Clearly, he wasn't done with me yet.

"I told you, Vergil's got my back," Dante said dangerously, and I bit down the torrent of accusations I wanted to throw at him.

"How... nice," I said instead, and crossed the street to the car.

I didn't look at Vergil when I opened the back door and scooted onto the leather seat. Dante shifted in beside me, and let out an irritated sigh when Rambo tried to follow suit. "Get in front, you ugly mutt!"

Rambo surprisingly obeyed. Vergil pulled over at a food market in the centre of town and brought a box of raisin buns and sugar doughnuts, and a bag of dried and treated meat bits for us. I didn't touch any of it, despite Dante offering me one or the other after every bite he took. I fell asleep along the way listening to old familiar classics playing over the stereo. When I woke up from my doze, I was hungry again, and the car was quiet. I was lying with my head in Dante's lap, and saw through the gap between the front seats that the radio had been switched off.

Vergil had a long piece of dried meat trapped in the corner of his mouth, and he was looking over at Rambo with a grin on his face. I watched him flick a piece of meat over to the hellhound, which caught it midair and wagged its tail happily, eagerly waiting for another treat with round trusting eyes. Vergil picked a large piece from the bag and dangled it above the dog's muzzle. Rambo twitched.

"Ah-ah," Vergil warned softly, and Rambo remained still. After a second, he dropped the meat, and Rambo greedily caught it in his maw, tail wagging once more. "Good boy," Vergil murmured, vigorously scratching the dog behind the ears.

I turned onto my back and saw that Dante had fallen asleep; slumped against the door with his head tilted back against the glass, and his long legs stretched out and propped up on the back of the passenger seat. I moved off his lap slowly.

"Are there any buns left?" I asked tiredly.

Vergil's smile melted away and he glanced at me brusquely in the rear view mirror. "It should be back there somewhere."

I looked around and found the empty box shoved underneath the seat. I let out a disgruntled groan and sat back in the seat to stare out the window. "What made you change your mind?" For a long moment there was no reply, and I caught Vergil staring at me. "Well? What evil scheme are you brewing this time?"

Vergil's lip curled into a half-smile. "I suppose you'll have to see for yourself."

"That's not funny."

Vergil sighed and said in bored tone, "My mother wanted you to come back home."

"So you didn't change your mind."

"No."

Vergil turned his attention back to the road. We didn't speak again until Dante woke up and demanded to know where all the snacks had gone. Ultimately Rambo got the blame, after much arguing about Dante's bad memory and his insatiable appetite. When we got home the sky was stained with the darker shades of dusk. Eva was pacing at the bottom of the stairs, and paused to look up when she heard Rambo's claws tick across the marble floor. Her gaze was jaded somehow when she looked at us, and her pretty face was strained and pale.

"You're home," she said quietly, wringing her hands together. "Cora, you and I need to talk."


	28. Confrontation

I meekly followed Eva upstairs to the study with Dante in tow. My legs protested tiredly against the strain, and I had to stop at the top of the stairs to catch my breath. A hand shot out and grabbed me firmly under my arm. I blinked up at Dante, startled.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Hmpf," I managed a nod.

The study was as clean and immaculate as always; every book shelved according to the alphabet, the heavy curtains drawn back to reveal nightfall outside the window, the mahogany desk tidy and glossy. Eva paced in front of the hearth, staring down at the Tibetan rug. I wobbled unsteadily toward the desk and thankfully sank down on the leather armchair behind it. A soft, involuntary sigh of relief slipped through my lips. Dante leaned against the chair, and his hand rested on mine reassuringly.

Eva whirled around to face me. "Did you tell anyone about Dante and Vergil?" Whatever I was expecting, it definitely wasn't this.

"What? You mean did I sell you guys out?" I asked, unsure whether I was being lectured or accused.

"However you want to refer to it," Eva said dismissively. "Did you tell anyone about Sparda?"

"How dumb do you think I am?" I said, my voice rising a notch.

"I told you she wouldn't..." Dante said, and shut up when Eva held up her hand to silence him.

"Why then did you not come back home?" Eva demanded.

"I couldn't," I said.

"Explain that to me. I am very, very mad at you, young lady," Eva said, marching over to the desk. I leaned as far back into the armchair as I possibly could. "So you'd better make it good or I'll send you packing to your aunt before Dante can say 'pizza'."

"Mother..." Dante started.

"I..." I glanced at Dante for a moment, stared at Eva helplessly, and hung my head. "Vergil kicked me out."

Dante let rip a short, bitter chuckle. "What a dick. I knew he had his hand in this somewhere."

"Dante, mind your tongue," Eva scolded angrily. "And why didn't you come to me, Cora? Vergil is not the head of this house, _I_ am. You'll do well to keep that in mind when you feel the need to make decisions that will affect the rest of this household, are we clear?" Eva added in a tight voice, suddenly turning toward the door.

I peeked past her and gripped Dante's hand tighter when I saw Vergil leaning in the doorway. His arms were folded across his chest, and he was shooting off black waves of arctic anger.

"Vergil, do we have an understanding? You will obey my rules and confer with me first before you even think about making drastic changes in my home," Eva pressed, undeterred.

"I'm not the one lacking discipline and obedience," Vergil retorted, giving a pointed look at Dante before levelling his gaze with Eva. "I brought the girl back as you requested, didn't I?"

"You don't get to play the villain _and_ the hero," Dante said. Vergil cocked his head to the side and opened his mouth, but Dante spoke before he could. "We wouldn't have had to go track her down if you hadn't kicked her out on the street in the first place!"

"Enough!" Eva snapped at him, and turned toward Vergil. "Dante has a point. If anything had happened to Cora, you would have been to blame."

"That's an unfair judgement," Vergil said. "I'm not responsible for h..."

"No, unfair would be if I..." Dante cut in, stepping away from the chair.

"I'm _fine_," I interrupted before Eva could start shouting at them again. "Now that we all know where we stand, can I go have some toast? I'm really hungry."

Everyone was stumped silent for a moment. Then Eva pulled me out of the chair and steered me toward the door. "Of course, of course. Where have you been, Cora? How did you get by? Good heavens, you've been gone for two months, you couldn't have managed that long on the streets all by yourself..."

"Maybe I just have really good luck?" I muttered, eagerly following her downstairs to the kitchen.

Far away angels seemed to sing a joyful hymn when I trailed over to the kitchen counter and saw the enormous dish of sizzling lasagne right out of the oven. My mouth started to water uncontrollably and I went over to inhale the heavenly aroma of meat and cheese.

Eva dished up for me the same amount that she always did for Dante and Vergil. I was devouring my plate as I made my way to the family den, and settled down on the couch to really dig into my food. I paused only to swat away Rambo's pleading muzzle pressing up against my knee a few times.

Food does wonders for the body. It cleared my head enough to think straight, and it made my eyelids grow heavy. I headed for the fridge when I saw Eva leaning beside the window, holding her head in her hands, her eyes pinched closed.

"Eva, what's wrong?" I asked, instantly alarmed.

"I don't know how much longer I can go without killing them," Eva mumbled, rubbing her face with agitated hands.

"What?" I asked, startled – and then I saw them through the window.

Dante was high up in one of the sycamore trees, leaning over a thick branch and smirking down at a very exasperated and ruffled Vergil pacing the ground below. I grabbed a tall glass of water, and headed outside to investigate. Vergil glanced my way, glared up at Dante, then gave me a frustrated look.

"Get him to come down, will you?"

"What are you going to do to him if he does?" I asked.

"Nothing compared to what I will do if I have to bring him down myself," Vergil said.

"C'mon, ya loser! What's the matter, scared you're gonna get a blister from climbing a tree?" Dante jeered from high up.

"It is _mine_ now give it back or I'm going to hurt you!" Vergil shouted back up at him, and gave me an impatient look. "Cora, get the fool to come down _now_."

"I guess this isn't worth that much to you then, is it?" Dante continued his mockery.

"You are on thin ice, brother. That sword belongs to me!"

"Yeah? Then come and get it!" Dante hollered back down with a maniacal laugh.

"He's got Yamato?" I asked, squinting up into the darkening sky to try see the sword Dante was carelessly dangling high above the ground. "How'd he manage to do that?"

"He pulled a trickster on me.," Vergil grumbled.

"Well, good. I think he should keep it," I said and flashed his glare a sadistic grin. "You're a lot less intimidating without it."

"I don't need to remind you that I am going to tear him apart, limb by limb, do I?" Vergil said icily. "No one touches my belongings. _No one_."

I took a few steps away from Vergil, daunted. "Don't come down!" I shouted up to Dante.

"You can't stay up there all night!" Vergil bellowed.

"Wanna bet?" Dante called.

"What's the matter? Afraid I'll kick your posterior into the next dimension?"

"Hah! I'd like to see you try that!"

"Come down here and I will!"

"How about you get over yourself and come up here?"

Vergil bristled and kicked at the pile of dead leaves beneath the tree instead. I hung around watching the boys exchange banter to and fro until the stars were out and the moon veiled the world in pale shadows. I went to soak in a hot tub, which turned out to be an almost purifying experience considering I hadn't properly bathed in a long time, and when I waddled into the study in my fluffy slippers and Dante's bulging black fleece robe, I could still hear their shouts faintly through the closed window. Eva had her reading glasses on and she was curled up on the window seat with a thick journal on her lap. She had a simple pink nightgown on, and she looked about ready to call it a night.

"Don't they ever stop?" I asked.

"They've gotten worse when you left," Eva murmured absently.

"They did?"

"Hmm. It seems you served as some kind of buffer between them."

"You mean I carried most of the brunt of their brotherly love?"

"And kept the peace between them."

"What peace?" I asked with a snort, leaning against the doorframe.

"The one that was completely absent when you were missing," Eva glanced at me over the rim of her glasses. "We need to discuss what you're going to be doing."

"If you're suggesting I play peacemaker between those two nutters, you can forget it."

"Not even I can succeed at keeping them from fighting one another," Eva said and gave a small, warm smile. "I wouldn't expect the impossible from you. We need to consider what you're going to be doing now that you're back home."

"Um... go to school? Serve my grounding sentence?"

"It's hardly as though I can ground a seventeen year old," Eva said tiredly. She paused for a minute. "There is a vacancy at the ice cream parlour in the centre of the city. Very popular little spot, I'm sure you know of it."

"You're telling me to get a job?" I asked hesitantly.

"You need something that will anchor you to us. School apparently doesn't do the trick, and your friendship with Dante clearly does not hold enough weight to keep you here. Maybe some sense of responsibility will."

"Eva, if you think I'm going to run off again..." I shook my head in helpless guilt. "I won't. I promised Dante I wouldn't."

"Still, it would put me at ease that I won't come home one day and find you're gone once again."

"Okay. Okay, fine. I'll go see if I can join the staff tomorrow."

"You can go over the weekend."

"But what if I run away before the weekend?" I asked scathingly, and bit my lip when Eva looked at me sharply. "Sorry."

"You're in a very fragile condition. I think a few days' uninterrupted rest is in order for you, until you've regained your strength and put some flesh back on those bones. You can spend your time catching up on school assignments and homework that you've missed out on, and next week you will return to school with Dante."

"That sucks. Don't you think I need a few more days rest before going back to that hellhole?"

"I thought you loved school," Eva said timidly, and threw a quick look at the window when another very loud profanity was tossed into the air.

"I did, until my friends got all weird on me," I admitted. "It's because of the demon poison in me, you know. I think they can sense it. Like the way I used to be able to sense that Dante and Vergil weren't entirely..." I tried to search for the least painful word to use to describe them.

"I'm on it, Cora," Eva said, motioning to the thick journal on her lap. A confident and genuine smile lit up her smooth, flawless features, and I felt a jolt of reassurance that maybe things were going to be okay after all.

"Okay. Well, don't stay up too late," I said, flushing.

"I won't. Goodnight, sweetheart."

"G'night."

I went to fetch a glass of milk – it was one of the little, but many, luxuries I'd missed a lot – and opened the refrigerator at the same instant there was a scream right outside the window.  
I froze, staring toward the darkness, and a second later something huge fell from the sky and hit the ground with a reverberating crack. I bolted outside without thinking, throwing on the backyard lights on my way. The green haloes of light illuminated Dante lying on the grass, and I noticed Rebellion tossed carelessly on the ground close to me. I started toward Dante, who was by now rolling onto his side and groaning in pain, but my legs turned into heavy ice blocks and kept me frozen on the spot when Vergil gracefully landed on his feet beside Dante.

I backtracked with a little outraged shriek and snatched Rebellion off the ground. I moved in unison with Vergil - still I was barely in time to deflect the tip of Yamato turning Dante's intestines into diced liver. We stood glaring at one another over a wounded Dante.

"That's low!" I hissed at him.

"And your opinion should matter why?" Vergil hissed right back at me.

"You just pushed him out of a tree!"

"He fell," Vergil said the words distinctly. "You should stop interfering, Cora, because you will get hurt..."

Vergil was suddenly gone, and I blinked down at him in surprise. He was on his back on the ground, and Dante was withdrawing his leg.

"Dude, don't start threatening her. You've put her through enough," Dante growled.

"Oh I'm going to..." Vergil started, scrambling to his feet. He was halfway there when Dante launched off the ground and tackled him back down.

I backed away as the two boys violently wrestled across the grass, growling and snarling threats and insults at each other like a pair of Rottweilers in a death-brawl. I started toward the backdoor to go fetch Eva, and slowed my pace down when I saw her emerging into the night. She had a hacked off expression on her face. I watched her disappear around the side of the house, sending a deep scowl in the direction of the fighting brothers, and then she reappeared with something in her hands. I lingered for another second before hurling myself into the safety of the house, and watching through the window with round eyes.

Eva twisted the thing in her hands, and then a wide powerful blast of white water gushed forth. I stared as she marched up to the boys and sprayed them angrily. It was only a matter of seconds before they tore away from each other and came up gasping for air and spluttering indignantly.

Their every protest was met with a stern, brusque, "Get in the house!"

Vergil was the first to obey, but Dante tried to throw a few more verbal punches at Eva. It won him another harsh blow of water right in the face and caused him to fall back on his rump. Eva shrieked at him angrily and pointed toward the house, and Dante quickly scrambled for the door.  
I said nothing when Vergil came walking past me, drenched from head to toe, still breathing hard. When Dante came stumbling inside, I clucked my tongue at him. "You should know better than to test your mom like that."

"Water! Like we're fucking animals!" Dante snapped at me, and I couldn't help but giggle.

"You were behaving like animals."

"Oh yeah? I'll show you an animal," Dante said, edging toward me playfully.

"Don't even think about it," I said, picking up a rolling pin to keep him at a safe distance. "Go change your clothes before you get sick."

"I don't get sick that easily," Dante said, and backed away in disappointment.

"Are you okay? That was one hell of a fall," I said, lowering the rolling pin.

"No, I think I broke my ribs, and my head feels like something is poking screws into it from the inside," Dante huffed, and took Rebellion from my hand.

"Do you want me to have a look at it?" I asked, inching toward him.

Dante shrugged me off. "Maybe later if you're still awake."

I watched him go, and grabbed my glass of milk when Eva came inside, grumbling to herself. I made it to my room without any other distractions – Dante was in his room and Vergil in the shower, by the sounds of it – and had enough time to note that it was just past nine in the evening when I fell asleep.

**~...~**  
_**  
**_


	29. You and Me

"But I ordered a cream soda float!"

I suppressed the urge to toss the coke float in the round little brat's face as I placed down the orders for the table. I offered a tight and completely fake smile instead. "Sorry, someone must have gotten the orders mixed up. I'll bring your float in a minute."

Mid-noon rush on a blistering summer day was like hell rising within the four walls of Mickey's Cone ice cream parlour in the city. What was worse was the fact that the manager of the store believed the customer was always right, even when they weren't. I gritted my teeth and strolled back to the kitchen with the drink in hand, expertly weaving past my fellow flustered work colleagues rushing to get their orders out. I glanced down at my order pad. Three coke floats, without a doubt. What a little shit. I should spit in his–

Someone rounded the corner of the kitchen and smacked into me. I stumbled back with a cry, caught myself, and looked down at my now wet and stained uniform. I gave a sharp look at the girl who had run into me. Nadine gave me a snooty smirk.

"Watch where you're going!" She chided and breezed past me.

I stood glaring after her for a full minute, wanting to relive the moment when I'd smashed her face in at school. But that would mean I'd get fired by the manager, and even if I wasn't 'let go', the other waitresses would make my time here an even worse living hell because they all sucked up to Nadine. For some reason they were convinced if they did right by the Head Waitress that they would score more cash from the manager, which meant that everybody practically worshipped the pom-pom shaking imbecile.

Imbecile. Damn it, I was starting to sound like Vergil. I whipped up a cream soda float, put in a quarter of a scoop of ice cream, and purposely forgot to top it off with sprinkles. I headed back to the table and shoved the drink at the kid. "Enjoy," I snapped and headed for the cashier to ring up the bills for my tables.

The ice cream parlour was overflowing with customers, and the money had been rolling in all day, but sometimes money simply didn't compensate for mal-treatment. I dealt the bills to my customers, reserving a friendly smile and 'have a good day' only for my regulars. I turned back in the direction of the kitchen but caught in my tracks when a new line of customers pitched up at the door, waiting to be served. Nadine was the first waitress standing in cue to step up and welcome them with her arms loaded with menus. The boy with the dazzling blonde mop of hair met her eagerness with cool gaze and a slight nod in my direction, and the blonde girl beside him waved at me.

Nadine stepped aside sulkily and gave me a dagger look when I went over and picked up my own armful of menus. "This way, guys," I said, leading the way to the smoking section which still had a few booths open.

"I'll have the Waffle special," Roman said after studying the menu for two minutes.

"Make that two Waffle specials," Lorry said, drawing a long, slim white cigarette from the packet in her hands. "And I want ice cream, not cream."

"Me, too," Roman said, handing the menus back to me.

"Aren't you two in synch today," I teased, snatching up the menus and heading for the kitchen.

Working weekends should be declared illegal. Like being swamped with schoolwork during the week and steering clear of the snobs wasn't tough enough, I had to get up early over weekends and spend hours side by side the people I try to avoid at school. Eva was unsympathetic about the whole thing.

Every time I tried to talk to her about it, she told me to go lament to Dante. I only did it once, I even squirted some tears, but Dante was as heartless as his mother. He just smirked and shrugged me off with an annoyed 'so people suck – what else is new?' and stared at me with that irritating lazy look that meant I wasn't going to get anywhere with him. Ever since, he'd been coming around the parlour regularly to check if I was there or not. Hell would rain down the day I decide to skip work.

I returned to their table with their orders – waffles for my friends and our super strawberry deluxe for Dante – and skipped away to change out of my uniform and grab my things in the little office behind the kitchen. By the time I headed for the exit, more customers were streaming in and lining up on the sidewalk outside.

"You're in a hurry," Dante manifested beside me like a shadow when I reached the parking lot.

"I want to get away from here," I muttered tiredly, shifting my bag onto my back and scrambling on to my bike.

"You don't want to do anything while we're in town?" he asked, disappointed.

"Nah. I want to go home and chill."

Dante let out an unpleasant sigh and spun around, ambling back toward the parlour. I watched him for a minute, wondering whether I ought to go after him or not. He was being a selfish idiot again. I wanted to go unwind, damn it!

"Dante?" I called. I didn't expect him to stop and turn around, but he did. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Never mind."

"Dante," I sighed, exasperated. "I'm tired. I want to go home. I don't want to be licking your ass to find out why you're mister grumpy-pants. Now I won't ask you again."

We stared at each other tensely. I was ready to turn my bike on and take off the second he carried on his evidently fake indifference, but he surprised me again.

"My mother is gone."

I stared at him, and blinked hard. "What?"

"My mother is _gone_. She didn't come home from the charity last night and she hasn't contacted us."

"She's not in the city at all?" I asked.

"Nope. She just kinda went _poof_. Disappeared off the face of the world."

"So...what do we do?" I asked. He was taking this way too calm to my liking.

"Wait for her to come back," Dante said and licked his lips. "Vergil thinks she's run off with some guy."

"What? Oh, _please_. What _guy_? The only guys your mom gets to see day-in day-out are the homeless men who line up for soup at the shelter. I doubt she would have been swept off her feet by one of them, and anyway she would never abandon us for _some guy_..."

"No, Vergil seemed convincing. According to him, people last saw her conversing with a man in the middle of the street. According to _them_, she got in a car with him and that's the last anyone's seen of her."

"Shouldn't we go to the police?" I asked, alarmed.

"They won't do anything. She wasn't forced, she didn't resist, and apparently it looked like she was quite familiar with whoever it was. No one thinks it's bad or serious. She just fell for some douche and ran away with her heart."

"That doesn't sound like Eva."

"Cora, you don't know my mom," Dante said, twitching an eyebrow. "She carries her heart on her sleeve. She has more passion than should be humanly possible."

"She wouldn't abandon you. Not for anyone."

"Yeah. Well," Dante slipped his hands into his pockets and shrugged. "Whatever, I guess. I knew she wasn't happy. I just didn't expect...this."

"We'll find her," I said, and the words themselves extinguished the weariness from the long day of work. "Do you know where the car was? Did the people see what kind it was, what colour it was, a number plate maybe?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, and yeah," Dante said, and gave me a sidelong look. "There's no point in investigating. Vergil's left the city. Said he had a 'hunch' where to find her." Dante scoffed at the word, and frowned at me. "And somebody's gotta be at home if she comes back."

"_When_ she comes back," I said, and went over to put my arms around him. "She will come back, Dante."

"We'll see. So," Dante breathed out, and hugged me closer. "It's just you and me now."

"That's scary," I said into his chest.

"Yeah."

I pulled away from him but I couldn't manage any comforting words. He stared down at me, and I gawked back up at him like a fish, until he turned away from me and the awkward moment passed.

"Where are you going?" I asked, starting after him.

"Nowhere. I'll see you tonight," Dante mumbled.

"Dan–"

"_Just piss off_. I gotta be alone right now!" Dante cut me off and I crashed to a complete stand-still.

He disappeared past the cue of customers on the sidewalk, and I was left in the lonely parking lot. I didn't know what else to do but follow him. I kept a pretty decent distance from him so it wouldn't be overly obvious that I was on his tail, but I knew he knew I was there. The fact that he didn't turn around and tell me leave him alone again was enough for me to keep track of him. Still, I felt like a stalker. I stopped dead on the sidewalk when he went through the stone pillar entrance of the cemetery, and watched him until he was gone between the mass of tombstones.

I leaned against the fence and tried to look innocent in the face of the suspicious looks passers-by kept sending me. The sun had set and the stars were out by the time I decided to get over my fear of walking over dead people and going to find Dante. I went straight for the back of the cemetery, where a shrine was built in memory of Sparda. No Dante. I found my family grave, the white marble glowing eerily beautiful in the dim moonlight. No trace of Dante there either. No Dante in the cemetery at all. I tried to catch a whiff of his scent, tried to locate his aura with my senses, and was greeted with the revolting stench of decay, and a coldness that seemed to reach out of the ground and crawl under my skin.

I bolted for the exit, and didn't stop until I reached the parking lot and got on my bike. He had to have gone home. He was probably waiting for me, watching the clock until I got home. A glance at my watch showed the time just past eight. I made it back to the Sparda fortress within ten minutes, and felt my throat pull tight when I saw no bikes in the driveway.

The house was black and silent when I stepped inside. He wasn't home. Rambo came trotting muddy paw prints into the house from the backyard to greet me at the door. I sank down next to him, scratching his ears.

"Messy dog," I said lightly, but my voice shook with the tears I was holding back. I shoved him away from me and went looking for the mop in the kitchen to clean up the mud. I flicked on all the lights in the house, found the mop hidden in a corner, and paused when the note on the fridge caught my eye.

_Mom has run off during the night. I've gone to find her.  
-V_

Maybe it was a twin thing, but I found the note to be cryptic and ridiculously vague. Questions boiled up in my head – and then I realized Dante probably had all the answers. If I was wondering, he would have been wondering too, unless he was psychic and Vergil ESP'd all the details over to him. Dante was probably interrogating people all morning to find answers.

Then where was he now?

I cleaned up the mess and did a thorough search of the house. Eva hadn't even bothered to take any of her clothes, and I sat down on her bed to stare around the room. She hadn't taken _anything_. Everything was where it should be. I didn't know Eva had it in her to act on impulse. Then again, I probably shouldn't be this surprised. Dante had to get his recklessness from somewhere, right?

I went to check the small en-suite bathroom, just to be sure there was no note she might have left behind, any hint of where she might have gone. I even got down on my knees and went through her trash – and that's where I found it. The smooth elongated plastic device gleamed in the sharp fluorescent light, nestled in between a bed of tissues and empty toilet rolls. The little red line in the small window told me everything I needed to know.

"No, Eva! You stupid woman! Dante and Vergil are going to freak if they find–" I stopped. That was it, of course. That's why she ran off – and probably with the father of the baby she was carrying. Wait. _What?_

I hurled myself out of the bathroom and started to tip out all the drawers in the bedroom. This was insane. That couldn't be real, it couldn't be definite – but it couldn't be anybody's but Eva's, and what did it matter whether the test read positive or negative? The fact was that it was there. Nobody in their right mind would get a pregnancy test unless they suspected they were expecting, and nobody would suspect they're expecting if they weren't sleeping around, and _that_ meant Eva was keeping secrets.

I was hoping to find a diary of some sort. A photograph, maybe. Even a stash of love letters hidden in a shoebox somewhere. But this was real life, and things didn't just fall into your lap, and the puzzle pieces you had wouldn't fit because some were bent and damaged. Eva had been so crushed about Sparda... I thought she'd never get over him. Now apparently she did, but why would she hide that from us? If she met somebody new, why wouldn't she want any of us to know? We were her _family_, why would she keep something this big from us?

Because she wasn't happy. Dante had said it, and I knew it was true. Eva didn't sparkle anymore, not around us. She went through the motions with a distant look on her face. Like she wanted to be anywhere but here.

Maybe she didn't want us to be part of her new life.

The thought choked the tears from my eyes. I couldn't even pretend not to care, because I did, and it hurt. Did Eva really hate us this much? Maybe raising half breeds pressured her too much. We should have done more for her. It's all Vergil's fault, it had to be, he was always taunting Dante and telling him that he was the better son. Well, at least Vergil's gone. Good riddance!

Where was Dante?

I went back downstairs and made salad, and sat with the bowl on my lap in the lounge, watching the time tick away. It was just past midnight when I swallowed down the bitter reality that Dante probably wasn't coming home either. I was alone. I flung the bowl at the floor and watched glass skid in all directions.

"If this is what karma is like then you can stick it where the sun don't shine!" I snarled at the empty house, stomping across the foyer to the stairs.

"Who're you talking to?"

I whipped around and stared at Dante silently, my heart fluttering in relief for three seconds before the tension building all afternoon erupted. He was closing the front door behind him, staring right back at me worriedly.

"Get out!"

"What?"

"If you're going to leave then just do it! Don't come back because you can't make up your mind, or because you want to be a _nice _guy and tell me you're going before you disappear too! I don't wanna hear it!"

"Cora," Dante sighed, rubbing his temples with the tips of his fingers. He closed his eyes for a moment, then shook his head and headed in the direction of the kitchen.

I went up to my room and laid in my bed, listening intently. There were faint noises coming from the kitchen. Then noises from the lounge. I heard Rambo's little whines, and Dante's curt, sharp retorts. I heard Dante coming upstairs and knocking things over in his room. I heard him go back downstairs. For a long time there was no noise. And then the sound of the front door opening, and closing quietly – like I knew it would. I cried into my pillow, and when the tears ran out, I stared out my window, too raw and empty to sleep.

My alarm clock buzzed at 7 A.M. I barely had enough energy to drag myself out of bed, and I only left my room at quarter past ten. I had no reason to live. Did I? Everybody I loved was gone, either taken by force, or abandoning me willingly. What was there left for me? Nothing. Life is about the people you love, so what do you do when no one is left but you?

I contemplated taking a knife and stabbing it into my chest as I walked toward the back of the house. By the time I reached the threshold of the kitchen, I was numb enough to actually go through with it. I walked over to the wooden block housing all the sharp kitchen knives, and took the biggest and longest one out. Like a miniature katana, I thought. I grabbed the handle with a tight fist and turned the blade toward my chest. I sucked in a deep breath, and plunged the knife in.

I bit down a scream – I didn't expect it to hurt that much – and tried to wrench it out of my chest, and failed. It was excruciating. I couldn't touch the handle, and a white haze layered before my eyes. I leaned against the kitchen counter weakly, staring blankly out the window, thinking the blue sky was going to be the last thing I ever see.

Something bright white and dazzling passed right in front of my vision, and the back door burst open behind me.

"What is it? Cora! I thought I smelled blood..." Dante said in relief when he saw me, and then his eyes fell on the knife in my chest. He was in front of me and the blood stained knife in his hand before I could react. He pressed his other hand hard to my chest, and I watched the black-red liquid streaming through his fingers.

"Ow," I wheezed out.

"What the hell did you do, fall into it?" Dante snapped.

I didn't say anything. The blood stopped pumping across his fingers, and the pain began to subside. When he finally moved his hand away, all I could feel beneath my shirt was a small welt where the skin had healed.

"What would you do without me?" Dante said, rinsing his hand under the sink. He gave me a sidelong look.

"I thought you left."

"I never said I was going anywhere. Go wash up. Human blood makes the house smell for weeks," Dante said.

I took a shower, and that afternoon we spent time together strategising on how we were going to sustain ourselves. It was scary for both of us, but I was just happy he was there. I didn't want to feel empty again. I didn't want to feel numb again.


	30. Play It Up

**~...~**

"To the left!"

"Okay!"

"I said to the left, Cora!"

"What the hell do you think I'm doing?" I returned over my shoulder, stretching and crossing my arms dead left.

Pale gold and gauzy orange streams of electric currents burst forth from my raised hands in short explosions, flooring demons randomly in the pack of scarecrows crowding around us. I backed up a step reflexively when one nasty looking demon trampled too close to me, ignoring the fact that I was already back to back with Dante. I heard him growl behind me in response to my nudge.

"Keep it steady."

"I'm trying!"

Dante whipped me around to face him. "You told me you were ready for this!"

"I'm here, aren't I?" I snapped, wrenching out of his grip and turning to strike several more advancing demons down with a brief explosion of electric sparks.

"Then keep it steady or I'm going to leave you home next time!"

I gritted my teeth and suppressed the urge to send a current of pain through Dante. I diverted my anger to the demons around us in a searing blaze of lightning instead. A second later there was nothing but the dying flopping sounds of scarecrows turning to ash.

I heard the sweet ding of metal and turned to see Dante holding Rebellion in the tell-tale sign that he was about to kick some serious ass. The edge of the enormous sword was resting on the ground, the hilt held deceivingly relaxed in his hand. I swallowed the sudden bitter taste in my mouth when Dante gave me a sideways look.

"That was pretty good," he said, swinging Rebellion up to sheathe it on his back.

"Dante, _I'm sorry_," I whispered, edging forward to touch him by the arm.

"For what? I wanted to call in an early night anyway," Dante shrugged, casually stepping out of my reach.

"We'll wait. More will come," I said desperately, but even as I scanned the fields of mutilated corpses around us I knew there wouldn't be any more action tonight. Dante started to walk toward the dirt road that led back to civilisation, and I marched up behind him with every ounce of determination I possessed.

I gave his shoulder a forceful tug to break his stride, and moved into his path, grabbing his hands to keep him from pulling a trickster on me.

"I didn't mean to cut the fight short," I pleaded, weaving my fingers through his. He kept his hands limp and unresponsive in mine. "Look, why don't we go to one of the bars and have a few rounds? Huh, watcha say?" I coaxed gently, trying to compress the frustration bubbling up inside of me when he purposely avoided looking at me. "The night's still young, and it'd be good to be around people."

"We don't have money to waste on beer," Dante said sourly. There was a flicker of resentment across his handsome features when he glanced at me, and he shook his hands free of mine before brushing past me with an irritated sigh.

"So then we'll go to Roman's house," I persisted, trying to keep in stride with him. It was difficult because his legs were way longer than mine, his steps fuelled with anger, and he was very obviously trying to get as far away from me as he could.

"You go. Have fun," he said curtly.

"Don't be like this," I almost shouted at him.

"Like what? This is just the way I am," Dante retorted vaguely.

I stopped trying to keep up with him and stood glaring at his retreating back. "Don't push me away, Dante."

"I'm not touching you." He said over his shoulder.

"If you don't stop right now, I'm going to Lorry's house..." I started.

"Don't let me stop you," Dante called back. He was getting further and further away, and I had to restrain myself from running after him.

"...and I'm going to call my Uncle Dill to come fetch me in the morning!" I finished, ignoring his sarcastic remark. Dante halted in his tracks so suddenly it made me blink . "And I won't come back, Dante."

"You'd do that?" Dante asked, half turning to give me a sidelong look. _You'd do that to me?_ was what he was really asking, and I knew that even if I said yes, Dante would merely accept it and let me go. We both knew he wouldn't come chasing after me again – he'd told me before that he wouldn't, and Dante was a man of his word. I'd be the bad guy to walk out on him, even if it was because he was pushing me away.

"Do you want me to?" I asked sharply, throwing the ball back in his court, back to safety.

"Whatever fills your turkey, babe," Dante shrugged.

"Answer me."

We stared at one another across the distance until Dante hung his head and diverted his eyes to his feet. I walked up to him and gently put my hand on his. This time he didn't play possum, and his fingers curled securely around my own. He gave me an awkward, soulful glimpse, and I lifted his hand to press my lips to the back of it.

"Home?" Dante asked quietly.

"Roman's," I said tightly.

"Whatever you want," Dante sighed.

We climbed onto Dante's bike, parked beneath a black canopy of trees, and headed into the city. Roman was warm and welcoming when we appeared on his doorstep, as he always was. I started to think it no longer surprised him to have us show up at his house without warning, because Roman's place was the only safe ground where Dante and I both felt at ease.

Some life lessons were learned the hard way – one of them being that you did not go spend time at an ex's house when your current relationship was in need of serious nurturing. The familiar, warm hug Lorry and Dante had exchanged had me running from her house in tears, and Van – good ol' stoned Van – had nearly had his ass kicked by a pissed off half breed when he'd given my leg a little squeeze. Both gestures had been done innocently and were meant to provide comfort, but it only increased the pain and insecurity between me and Dante.

Which made Roman our safe ground. Our home away from home. We unwound on the porch swing, the boys with foaming glasses of beer and me with a cup of tea, and enjoyed the still and starry night.

"How are you two keeping?" Roman asked after some idle chatter about school. The topic ran dead fast because neither Dante nor I have been to school since Vergil left. I exchanged looks with Dante.

"It's as good as it gets," Dante muttered, leaning forward on his knees.

"Yeah." I said quietly, and managed a smile to Roman's furrowed brow. "We're fine, Roman."

"You know to just ask if you need anything, right?" Roman said, doubtful. "I have to keep my mom from driving out to you guys every night. She's always asking about you, and not even she buys into it when I tell her that you guys are fine."

"Your concern is unnecessary," Dante said.

"But appreciated," I added.

"Look," Roman said, his tone changing as he mimed Dante's posture. Dante stiffened and stared hard at his beer.

I wanted to shut Roman up without being rude, because one thing Dante didn't take well was pity. Luckily, Roman didn't seem to be going for the pity route. "Your mom did a lot around the city, Dante. She contributed a great deal to our society, and she helped a lot of people out of the gutter."

Dante didn't relax but his gaze shifted to fix on Roman's sincere expression. I gave his knee a soft pat, a silent plea not to lose his rag.

"Everyone knows your mom. Everyone is indebted to her in one form or another. She touched a lot of lives, and everybody loves her for it," Roman carried on, undeterred by Dante's dangerously indecisive stare. "It's only decent that people will want to return her goodness. Don't make this a question of pride, dude. People are willing to help. So let us."

Dante grimaced. "I'll keep that in mind."

"We could do with a cup of sugar and a bit of coffee," I said, getting to my feet.

"No we d–"

Dante's words were cut off by the screen door slamming shut behind me. I found Roman's mother fussing in the Tuscan-style kitchen, packing a grocery bag with freshly baked rolls and cold meats and plastic wrapped cheese. Ten minutes later we were back home in our own kitchen making chicken mayo sandwiches and arguing about who was going to do the laundry. As always, Dante won the fight by simply walking out and leaving me to tend to the chores by myself.

One look at the mile high pile of dirty laundry in the back room sent me running. I climbed into bed behind Dante and shivered at the cold sheets against my skin. I snuggled up to his back until his body heat warmed me up.

"Maybe tomorrow," I said quietly.

"Maybe." Dante whispered back.

~...~

The sun was up - had been up for some time – and streamed in through the open bedroom window. It flooded on the dark carpet, turned the pale downy bedding a blazing white, and coloured the ivory skin of Dante's back a soft gold. I lazily traced the length of his back. Dante stirred and mumbled in his sleep. I glanced at the clock. _Damn_. I forgot it broke about a week ago after he threw it across the room. I'd tried to put it back together and failed. Dante hadn't even tried to fix it.

"What do you want to do today?" I asked sleepily.

"I want to stop existing," Dante murmured.

"Come on, you need some direction, Dante," I said.

Dante pushed his face into his pillow and said some very nasty things. Not that I could hear what he was saying, but his tone of voice carried across the meaning.

"Fine, I'll come get you later," I sighed heavily.

I crawled out from underneath the covers and, still in the clothes I'd been wearing all of yesterday, made my way to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and pulled a face when the dirty water in the basin collected before very, very slowly draining away. A gag worthy smell whiffed up at me once the water had drained and I fled the room. Dante could say what he wanted, the drain _was_ clogging up.

The rest of the house had a sticky, uncomfortable atmosphere as I made my way to the kitchen. The clock on the wall there said it was just past eleven. I rummaged through the cupboards for a clean cup, found it empty, and angrily forced myself to scrub the dried remains of warm coco from a cup in the cluttered sink. I boiled the kettle, and went to settle outside on the swing with hot coffee in hand. The fresh air was a relief compared to the humid mounting up inside the house. Rambo came sprinting toward me from the far corner of the yellowing yard, tail wagging, his entire body aflame.

"No, boy! Down!" I rapped out, tsk-ing at the dog as his fire shrunk and eventually fizzled out as he came to lie by my feet.

Funny enough, I could smell brimstone in the air. I stared down at Rambo for a long time, wondering where the mutt had gotten into to carry the stench of hell. I could hear the faint crackling of a fire dying down too. I ran my hand across Rambo's smooth coat of fur. It wasn't even hot to the touch. Odd. I gave the hellhound another suspicious glance before relaxing back into the swing.

The beautiful morning was tainted with the question that had been weighing heavily on our minds for the past three months. Would they come home today? Eva, or Vergil – it didn't matter who anymore, as long as one or the other came back. Dante wouldn't talk about it with me, but I knew that's why he was practically living in his bed, why it took so much out of him just to get up every day.

Because every day was another day he had to wait, and worry, and have his hopes crushed when there was a no show by the time sleep came again.

I reflected on the past few months – and on the past couple of weeks in particular, when Dante and I had started dancing on lines that had been drawn for us when I first came to live with his family. But there was nothing wrong with cuddling at night, there was nothing wrong with providing each other with emotional as well as physical comfort – and the nights were the longest, and the most excruciating. Holding each other made it bearable.

So maybe we were playing with fire. It's not like there was anyone to stop us. Speaking of fire...  
I leaned down and pressed my ear against Rambo's body. I could hear his heartbeat – far too fast for any living thing – and my head rose and fell along with his breathing.

The crackling _definitely_ wasn't coming from him. I glanced in the direction of the open fields leading into the heart of what could have been a hellmouth, and stared up at the sky. No smoke anywhere, and only those with suicidal tendencies would dare venture past the Sparda fortress into the demon country. Besides, there were no forests to burn.

I frowned. That _was _the sound of fire, though, wasn't it? I must be hearing things or something. I need more sleep, that's the problem. Dante did a good job of keeping me up most of the night, and I of course returned the favour. It was only for comfort, I reasoned.

But the comfort snuggling gave us only went that far. It didn't eliminate the burdening reality that there was barely enough money to get us by. The power had been cut twice – I still don't know how Dante got them to see it over – and we resorted to take away pizzas every night. It was, surprisingly, a lot cheaper than trying to buy groceries with money we didn't have.

"They don't have tabs for sugar and milk, but they always have tabs for pizzas," Dante had told me before. Of course that meant we were going to have an impossible tab to pay off in the near future, but Dante was more of a 'live for the moment' guy.

I finished my coffee and went to add the cup to the stinky dishes, still deep in thought about our dire finances and how my petty salary at the diner was going to pull through for us this week. My shift didn't start in another three hours, and Dante was guaranteed to still be in bed. He never left the room while I was home – only once I came back from work would I find him out on the couch, or he'd come to the diner to pick me up. I'd tried begging, and encouraging him, and even bribing him to get up and go do something productive, but none of it did anything but make him irritated with me. I've resorted to tickling him out of bed lately – not that it had the desired result, but it always ended in a sweet kissing session that had us melted against each other.

I glanced at the figure in the hallway when I stepped back into the kitchen. Dante had gotten up and was standing on the threshold, staring at the pile of dishes with a look of severe contempt on his handsome face. In the same second that my dazed perception took him in, my mind chastised me for a bluntly stupid assumption.

Dante didn't look like a neatly groomed young man first thing in the morning, and he never bothered pulling on a shirt, much less a button-up black vest with matching jeans tailored to his long legs. Dante looked like a groggy little kid in a teenager's body, neglected, screaming out to be nurtured – the boy standing across from me was definitely not him.

There was a beat of hesitation when eyes like frozen cobalt shifted to look right at me. There was no threat behind them, no callous expression that used to send me running. Nothing wicked. Still, if I hadn't known Dante's antics as well as I did, I wouldn't have believed that it was Vergil staring back at me.

"You're back." I managed to get out. I felt a nudge, like a soft breeze had knocked into my forehead – too brief for me to distinguish whether it had been real or not. The whole moment felt very surreal.

Vergil slowly walked closer to me and I found myself reflexively backing away. He stopped to gaze out the window beside me. Something crackled loudly between us and he looked down at me sharply.

"I didn't think you'd be this excited to see me," Vergil remarked, watching the little orange sparks snap off my arms and hands with loud little popping noises, "Calm down."

"I'm not excited," I said through gritted teeth, and the sparks stopped almost abruptly.

Vergil arched an eyebrow at me. "Your control has improved."

"Yeah, that tends to happen when there's no one else trying to control _me_," I said scathingly and immediately moved back when he turned to face me.

"I see," he said ruefully.

"Where's Eva? Did you find her?" I asked. I couldn't hold his gaze and fixed my attention on the broken cupboard door beside me instead.

"Yes."

"Is she okay? Where is she? Who is she with? How is she?" The questions tumbled from my lips before I could stop myself, and when I looked at him again, my face heated up at its own accord. There was an expression on his face that was very uncharacteristic for him. For a second, I debated that he might actually be Dante, playing a nasty prank on me. The debate crumbled to ash when he spoke though.

"She's safe," Vergil said.

"Good! But where is she and when is she coming ba–" I broke off my sentence because he'd taken a step toward me. He was still staring at me, and it was terrifying.

It wasn't the I-have-a-plan stare, or the I'm-going-to-kill-you stare. He was simply just staring at me – like he'd never seen me before. It was creepy.

He'd clearly gotten better at his abilities acquired through the arcane arts too, because he'd been in my head probably since the moment he came into the kitchen. I could see his reaction to having heard my thoughts; a glimpse of amusement in those light eyes.

"The going-to-kill-you stare?" Vergil asked quietly, and there was nothing mocking in his voice. "Why would I want to hurt you?"

"I've been asking myself the same thing ever since you went dark-side," I said, "I don't know. Maybe you just naturally hate me."

He let out a quick, impatient sigh and fixed me with an indifferent look. "I don't believe you were ever the problem, and if I'm interpreting your mind correct, I do believe I know what problem needs to be dealt with right now."

"Get out," I breathed, angry and embarrassed. Shit...wasn't I just thinking of me and Dante doing... _shit, stop thinking!_ I was starting to freak myself out, because I knew he'd seen everything I'd been thinking... Buckets of sweet relief poured over me when I felt him retract his mind from mine almost violently.

"I don't mean to upset you," Vergil said, holding my eye for a minute too long before scanning the room around us, "It looks like you've been breeding cockroaches."

"I gave up trying to keep the place tidy after a week. I don't know how Eva managed all this work alone," I said defiantly.

"She didn't," Vergil said grimly, picking up a pot with a burnt bottom and dropping it back in the sink with a loud bang.

"She had help?" I asked, slowly edging toward the door as Vergil inspected the stained and empty cupboards. "I didn't realise we had a maid."

"That's because we don't have one," Vergil said with an impatient sigh. He opened the broken cupboard door, which slouched and squealed at an odd angle.

I stopped in my tracks when he turned and started right for me. I flattened myself against the wall to allow him to pass me, and felt my breath choke in my chest when he paused in front of me with a contemplative look. Not just any look. . It was the type of look Dante gave me when he was...well, being Dante... or when I dressed up. An appreciative look.

My cheeks burned red and my heart beat unpleasantly hard when he turned and carried on up the corridor a second later. I tentatively followed him to the family den where he surveyed the neglect with clear disdain.

"How can you live like this?"

"So what was her trick?" I asked when he scowled at me.

"There was no trick. I helped her," Vergil scoffed. Then he brushed past me and started for the stairs. "Dante!"

"_You_ did?" I asked, caught off guard.

"What's the matter, girl? Have you gone deaf while I was gone?" Vergil said in an intolerant tone.

Dante appeared at the top of the stairs before I could come up with a response. "Where's mom?" he asked, zipping up his pants as he descended the stairs quickly, glancing down at the front foyer hopefully.

"She's in Fortuna," Vergil said, passing him on his way to the second floor.

"Yeah? Where's that?" Dante asked, and jerked around.

Vergil paused on the steps and turned back, and for a moment there was an odd silence.

"Sorry the place is a bit rundown," Dante finally said.

"I'm not surprised," Vergil grimaced, "It's so like you, Dante."

"Hey are you taking a hit at..." Dante caught himself with a shake of his head, and calmed down, "Is she coming back soon?"

"Not for another couple of months."

"Who's the guy?"

Vergil's face twisted slightly in disappointment. "I'm not sure."

"You're not sure whether to tell me or not," Dante stated flatly, "It's _him_, isn't it? That's why he's been keeping a low profile, because I don't want him here."

"Don't be foolish, you hold no threat to Spar –" Vergil said.

"He knows I was just pissed when I gave him the finger, right?" Dante interrupted weakly, and there was another moment of silence.

"I'm sure he knows, Dante," Vergil said evenly, and turned to continue up the stairs.

"Why did it take you so long to come home?" Dante asked.

"I had to retrace my steps," Vergil said vaguely over his shoulder.

Dante turned to me, and before I could react he had his arms wrapped around me in a rib-crushing hug. "Ow," I wheezed out.

He led me to the family den, glancing toward the foyer excitedly, before turning his light blue eyes on me. "Did you see that?"

"Uh, Vergil? Yeah...are you okay?" I stared back at him blankly.

"No, I mean did you _see_ it?" Dante asked, and carried on when my expression didn't change. "The oppressive weight. The black cloud that used to follow him everywhere is gone."

"Which means...he's in a good mood?" I asked uncertainly and dodged the look of impatience Dante sent me.

"Which means he's not carrying the scent of the Underworld anymore. He's not... you know." Dante made a face and fell silent.

"Evil?" I blurted the word out.

"It means he's back to normal," Dante countered with an edge to his voice. "Come on, we should get this place cleaned up before my mom gets home."

"Eva is coming home?" I asked, stumped immobile.

Dante ripped the black carpet from underneath the coffee table and started scooping old cups from the table. "Yeah. Vergil found her, that's why he was gone for such a long time. Now that he's back, it means she's coming back, too."

"And you know this how?"

Dante paused in his fussing and explained in a forbearing voice that sounded far too much like his evil counterpart, "Vergil wouldn't have left my mother's side once he found her. Not unless she promised to come back to us soon, and my mom always keeps her promises. That, and my dad was obviously with her. He's the only force powerful enough to pull my brother's head out of his ass and knock the shit out of his brain."

I stared back at him for a long moment, and scowled deeply. "You know...speaking of the Underworld..."

"What?" Dante dropped the rug from one hand, and gripped the cups so hard I thought he might break them.

"I thought..." I trailed off at the intense look on his face. "Um..."

"You thought what?" Dante pressed edgily.

"I smelled brimstone outside."

Dante dropped the cups with a loud clatter back on the table and started for the front foyer. "In the yard?"

"No. In the air. And I thought I heard a fire, or maybe it was wind, but I couldn't pin point where... can you hear it, too?" I asked, startled when he abruptly grabbed my arm and steered me toward the laundry shaft in the corner of the family den.

"Get in," Dante barked, ripping the door open and nudging me roughly. "Now!"

I obeyed by the sheer power of his voice. It was cramped in the narrow space. "But Dante..."

"Don't come out until I come and get you," Dante started to move away.

"I can take care of myself! I've only been demon hunting with you for a month and you know I can use my abilities..."

Dante paused suddenly and crouched down to my eye level. "Hunting demons every other night is one thing. _Being hunted by demons_ is a completely different ballgame, babe. If you get out, you're on your own, Cora. I mean it."

"Okay," I squeaked out the same instant I heard Vergil's voice come from behind Dante.

"I'll take the front."

"I'll come with you," Dante said, rising back to his feet.

"That was a hint," Vergil said icily, narrowing his gaze at Dante's response, and sighing in aggravated anxiousness. "Fine. You take the front, I'll take the back."

"Maybe you didn't get _my_ hint," Dante retorted sharply, "_I'm coming with you_, dipshit."

"This is not the time to question my authority, Dante," Vergil growled.

"This is not the time to have a stick up your ass either!" Dante snarled back.

"Fine, do as you please!" Vergil said, and the next second he was gone.

Dante turned to me only to kick the shaft door down. I was doused in piercing blackness , and then I heard something that sounded frighteningly very much like a hurricane. The wind roared – but then I couldn't be sure it _was_ the wind. The walls around me began to tremble, and the overwhelming scent of brimstone dumped over me like a bucket of bitter sharpness, wafting up my nose, filling my eyes with tears, and leaving a vulgar, tingly taste in my mouth.

And it was _hot. _Not summer-hot or fire-hot. It was _hellishly_ hot – like hot-ice that froze and burned at the same time, only the heat was everywhere. It burned my skin and chilled my bones; squeezed the breath from my lungs and made me break out in a cold sweat. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't breathe in the small space, in the dark, in this blind chaos. The air itself was stale and contaminated with malice, and I couldn't drag it into my lungs.

Then the most terrifying sound I've ever heard literally turned my blood to ice.

"_Dante!"_ Vergil screamed.

I'd never heard Vergil's silky voice laced with so much terror and rage. It was his words that prompted my instincts to take over my logic. I wrenched the shaft door up and toppled out onto the carpeted floor. There was no sign of anything being wrong inside the family den, and I had no idea where the guys were. I threw myself outside, ignoring the primal fear the unearthly roar stirred inside of me. I stumbled across the yard, which was still in perfect condition up to ten feet away from the front door. From there onward it looked like hell itself had come parading for the world to see.

There were swarms of fiery demons descending on the landscape around the fortress – if I'd been into the twisted art like Vergil, I might have said the black, blue, green and orange fires looked like one big beautiful painting.

Vergil was on one side of the flood with a five feet clearing all around him as he decapitated and sliced the demons around him into oblivion with Yamato. He was pushing through the mass, and I turned in the direction he was aiming.

I didn't know what the hell it was at first. It looked like an enormous, wobbly blue blob of gelatine that the demons were very quickly hoarding away. One particularly large demon, with pale yellow flames around its charred and cracked body, was rolling it roughly across the ground. I ran toward the sea of fire, uncertain, scanning the flood for another white head. But Dante had come downstairs without his holsters, without his coat, and I didn't see him with Rebellion.

Even as I thought of the sword, several gleaming blue swords soared through the air and impaled the large demon in its back. The creature roared, and the flames around the demons grew higher and hotter. The demon spun around to throw a cannonball of black fire back at Vergil, whose easy dodge landed him in the thick of the demon army. Another second passed and the air around Vergil was cleared away with a few blinding flashes.

The demon roared again, and violently kicked the blue blob a few yards away. Vergil couldn't keep up with them. I started in his direction, and the moment I did, Vergil turned his head toward me.

I wanted to voice the one question howling through my head. Where is Dante? But Vergil pointed toward the blue blob before I could, and flung more blue swords at the large demon. What the hell was going on?

I redirected my course, and then Rambo was before me, cleaving a way through the swarm with his own red flames. I bolted after him, dodging invisible hits – the demons didn't seem to pay much attention to me or Rambo.

Then I got close enough to really _see_ the blue blob, and I found my breath along with my voice.

"_Dante!" _My scream drowned out the demon's roar, and the expected unnatural phenomena happened. Golden lightning spears materialized around me and forked through the air with loud, angry snaps, striking demons down and turning them to ash. I shrieked at the big demon even before I reached the blob.

"Get away from him!"

The demon paused, startled, and then turned on me with sharp teeth and a furious roar. Dante had warned me time and again to keep my composure when I felt threatened, but in this moment in time I didn't know whether I was in control or if my subconscious had simply taken over the task of defending myself. My concentration was certainly not on fighting off some demon general – my attention was on something far more petrifying to view. Another fork of lightning lashed across the distance and struck the monster flat to the ground.

A few more rushed, unsteady steps and I fell against the blob. I momentarily panicked that I too would get trapped inside of it. I didn't. I bounced off it like a rubber ball. I thudded my hands against it, surprised at how solid and heavy it was, and I started to dig into it with my fingers. It was like pulling a large piece of sticky, hard jelly apart. The clumps I ripped from it clung to my hands and chilled my skin.

But I kept digging deeper, harder, getting my feet involved and trampling pieces of gunk away. I didn't relent once because my eyes were nailed to Dante suspended inside of the thing. His eyes were closed...and _how could he breathe in there_? There was no oxygen in this magical tomb. That's when I realised that it might not just be the jelly stuff that made him look blue.

Don't be dead, don't be dead, oh please don't let him be dead, I thought feverishly, wildly clawing my way through the difficult mass of blue. Then I got hold of his foot and I leaned back with all my weight, pulling as hard as I could. If I dislocated his leg, so be it. Better a few broken bones than dead. Better damaged than gone. I managed to budge him an inch, and let out a frustrated cry.

"Dante, wake up!"

I got a firmer grip on Dante's shin, and then two more hands wrapped around my own as warmth pressed up against my back.

"On the count of one," Vergil said right behind me.

And we pulled. Neither of us let go or slacked off the force we were exerting to fight the unyielding solid liquid. My hands were beginning to cramp and my fingers were turning numb. Vergil's hands kept my own locked tight around Dante's leg. Every second in the horrible tug-of-war was fatal – Dante would surely die if we relented one moment, yet both Vergil and I were also vulnerable because we had no one to cover our backs while we tried to get Dante out.

Then, finally. Mercifully. There was a disgusting sound. And the jelly gave way. I was on the ground holding onto a limp and icy Dante before I could register that we'd gotten him out.

"Get him to the house, I'll take care of this," Vergil ordered.

I didn't doubt for one second that Vergil would make good on his word. I didn't doubt that I could carry Dante's weight all the way back to the house either. Vergil was beside me like a blue gale whipping from one spot to the next to blow down the angry demons through the frantic pause-and-drag stumble.

It was a short-lived relief when we set foot in the house. Vergil closed the front door in my face. I turned down to look at Dante's waxy complexion and blue lips. I patted him on the cheeks without really acknowledging the act.

"Dante...Dante, wake up. Can you hear me? Can you move something to show me you can hear me?" My voice sounded winded. Everything had a touch of surreal to it. It reminded me of the detached quiet that came before reality screeched.

For what felt like an eternity of staring intently down at him, Dante finally hitched a breath. It was small and brief, but it was enough. I found the strength to get him to the couch in the family den, and I piled blanket upon blanket on top of him. He was so cold... like death.

Death was cold. Death looked like Dante. Pale. Icy. Lifeless.

"I don't know what to do," I choked out. I'd never felt this helpless before, and it made me angry. "I don't know how to stop this!"

But I knew who did know. I marched to the front door and hurled it open. Vergil was like a ghost, appearing all over the place, dicing demons. There were less of them, but still at a number that could pose a problem.

I wrung my hands together to create friction, waited for the little crackling sound that told me I was there, and then slammed my hands onto the ground. Streams of white-gold electricity shot out across the landscape like a tsunami, the next wave bigger than the previous. Vergil managed to evade my onslaught – I didn't quite take in how he pulled that off – and he was suddenly beside me, shaking me by the shoulders.

"Enough! _Enough_, they're dead!"

I shoved his hands away wildly. "Get... Dante... you have to..."

Vergil was gone in the blink of an eye. I ran to the family den to find him kneeling beside the couch, both his hands crossed on Dante's unmoving chest. There were sparks of green and purple erupting beneath his palms, and his gaze was trained on Dante's face. Whatever Vergil had been doing since he left, he'd gotten faster.

Way faster.

Vergil backed up when Dante opened his eyes. He sat up slowly, dazedly staring at his brother.

"Vergil?" Dante asked weakly. "Am I dreaming?" He gingerly rubbed the back of his head and leaned forward to press his forehead into his hand. "Man, I've got one whammer of a headache."

"You've been asleep," Vergil said carefully.

I gaped at Vergil in surprise. "No, Dante, you..."

"Had a fever. You got sick and Cora tracked me down and I came home to look over you," Vergil cut in smoothly. He sent me a warning glance, and I gritted my teeth angrily.

"Huh," Dante said, blinking hard at me before pinching his eyes closed and putting his hands against his temples. "Fuck it," Dante muttered in quiet agony, "What kind of fever was it? It feels like somebody used my head for soccer practice."

"It'll get better. Take it easy," Vergil said lightly.

"Did you find mom?"

"I told you I did."

"Right, you did," Dante said and winced at Vergil, "The light is screwing up my eyes. I can see three of you."

"You should rest," Vergil said, getting up, "Your body needs to revitalise its powers."

"Whatever you say, bro," Dante murmured, slumping down onto the couch.

I watched him curl onto his side, completely oblivious that something was amiss. Vergil took me by the elbow and led me out into the backyard. The glass door had barely swung shut before I whirled on him.

"What the hell was –"

"So I do make you excited," Vergil remarked.

I shook my hands to rid of the little gold sparks leaping off my fingertips and shot him a look. "Shut up! Why did you brainwash him?"

"I erased part of his memory," Vergil said indulgently, "Would you rather have him remember what it feels like to run right into a trap and slowly suffocate because he was utterly helpless to save himself?"

I swallowed the torrent of words that had been mounting behind my lips and looked away from his intense gaze. "No," I said soberly.

"I didn't think so."

"It still isn't right. You can't just go around erasing people's memories," I said.

"I've been doing it to him long before you ever met us," Vergil countered. He continued indifferently when I scowled at him, "Not that it's any of your business."

"So what if something like this happens again? What if the demons bring another blob of jelly around and Dante..."

"It's called a Power Clot. It serves as a sponge that sucks the magical abilities from its host and drains their spirit as well," he interrupted.

"Well, whatever! How is Dante going to know to stay away from that thing in future if he doesn't know he's been faced with it before?"

Vergil cocked his head to the side and scrutinised me with a faint frown. "Dante was unarmed and fooling around. He saw the Power Clot coming his way but, as always," Vergil sighed the last, glancing down at Yamato on his side, "He was too fixated on showing off to move out of the way fast enough. Dante knows better. Sparda taught us all we will ever need to know. It was a bad judgement call on my brother's behalf."

"Oh," I said faintly. I didn't know what else to say, and even if it did make me mad that Vergil would prance around with his god complex, he did have fairly reasonable explanations for his actions. Damn Dante and his lame wit!

"Well then," I said uneasily.

Vergil's glance anchored me to the spot. Like a mouse cornered by an eagle – only the predator wasn't out for the kill, and this mouse was too stumped to scramble. I was afraid, but I didn't feel threatened.

That made no sense. I wanted to smack my head to clear it, and found that I couldn't look away from him. He pursed his lips uncertainly and his mouth softened. The characteristic grimness that had always prevailed in his expression was gone. When was the last time we'd been able to stand face to face and talk like this, without any threats in the air? He was staring back at me, and I could see he was as daunted and uncertain in this moment as I was. For a split second.

He regained his stealthy confidence before I could even gather my thoughts to try make sense of the awkwardness. He took a step toward me, and to my alarm my body wouldn't react the way it naturally did. I stood my ground. He took another step and came up right in front of me.

I heard my breath whirring somewhere in my head and my heart was bouncing outside my chest, and my cheeks flushed brightly even as I condemned myself for this bizarre play of response. I lifted my hand in between us, wanting to push him away but not wanting to touch him either.

"What are you doing?" I gasped at him, tearing my gaze from his to stare at his chest only inches away from me.

"I'm not doing anything," Vergil said slowly. The expression in his eyes when I glimpsed up at him then was terrifying enough to make me stumble away from him.

"Don't come near me," I half-pleaded, but he wasn't listening. I backtracked as he advanced on me. "Stop doing whatever it is you're doing!"

"I told you I'm not doing anything."

"Don't look at me like that!" I almost shrieked at him.

Vergil stilled. "Like what?"

"Like...like...like..." And I couldn't find the words because the words didn't fit with Vergil. The words _couldn't _fit. "What is wrong with you?" I rapped out instead.

"I don't know," Vergil said thoughtfully. He turned toward the house, and slowly looked back at me. "I know how I could find out, though."

"I mean it, stay away from me or I swear I'm going to scream... for Dante," the last words were a desperate bid to deter him. It worked.

Vergil lifted his arms slightly in a wave of surrender and he shook his head as if to clear it. Then he gave me a very unpleasant look that was a lot more familiar to the psycho Vergil that had been short of torturing me for the last couple of years. I watched him, dumb struck and trembling, glide back into the house to leave me alone with the possibility of the impossible.


	31. Welcome Back

_**HI! I ISH BACK.**_  
_**Sorry for the short chapter. Things have changed a little bit, so it might help if you reread the last few chapters. Ta!**_

* * *

Isn't it funny how, sometimes, people play you for a fool. You put your trust in them and believe their words, until one day, you discover that everything they've told you is a lie.

First it was Dante. Out hunting demons? Highly debatable when his route to 'work' conveniently lies in the direction of Love Planet. Maybe he liked bringing work home, as the bras I found in his room early one morning testified. I wasn't ready to go all the way but he was. Obviously. A small part of me was outraged and hurt by this betrayal, but another part of me was okay with it. There were no expectations in our relationship, there never really was. It relieved the pressure from my shoulders, made me more comfortable when he'd slip into my bed in the early morning hours to cuddle up with me.

Second in line was Eva and Sparda.

I just happened to be making my way to the bathroom when I overheard them say my name from the study. If it hadn't been for that, I would have carried on my merry way. It was comforting hearing their voices again, having them back under our roof. As it were, I found myself glued to the study door at 3am in the morning, learning in possibly the worst way that Eva, and Sparda, had been lying to us.

"I never should have told you to leave us" from Eva was enough to clear up the confusion. She'd lied to all of us. I guess Dante must've gotten that trait from her.

"Cora needs to go," Sparda was saying.

"She's family..." Eva protested weakly.

"She's a danger to our family with the company she keeps."

"Is it that different from the company you keep?"

"Don't do this, Eva. Those are my kin, I have assured their loyalty to me."

"I can't just send her away, love."

"Make up some excuse! We can't risk news of our child spreading to the wrong ears. The boys can take care of themselves, but you can't, not when you're this fragile. She needs to go before your belly shows. I don't care how you do it, but either you deal with it or I do."

"Sparda, where is your heart?"

"With you! With our legacy!"

There was a moment of silence, and then Sparda said, "What do you think Mundus will do when he finds us?"

"Alright," Eva sighed heavily. "Alright. I'll think of something."

I heard footsteps and turned to see Vergil coming upstairs. I moved away from the study door and toward my room, despite that it meant I'd have to cross paths with him. Rather that than getting caught eavesdropping. There was a slight pause in his stride when he noticed me, and then he was walking beside me down the corridor toward our rooms.

Awkward.

"What are you doing?" he asked quietly.

"I dunno," I muttered. I wondered if Dante was home or still out playing with strippers.

"He's out," Vergil said.

I stopped dead in my tracks and stared at him. "Don't you think it's a bit early for you to start tormenting me?"

He gave me half a smile and inclined his head. "I'm here if you want the company."

"No thanks, I prefer my own." I reached for my door and heard him chuckle when I stepped into my room. Creep.

I lay awake until I heard Dante slip into my room like a shadow in the dark. I turned around when he crawled into my bed, and I snuggled up to his bare chest as close I could. "Your parents want to get rid of me," I finally whispered.

"I'll keep you safe," he whispered back, and his arm pulled me even harder against him.

All the things I'd been thinking of telling him suddenly didn't seem as important now. Who cared if Eva was hiding her pregnancy from all of us? Who cared that Eva had been the one to tell Sparda to leave, that Dante's attempt at protecting her was stupid and futile because she'd known all this time where Sparda was? Who cared about meaningless little things like the past when, in the here and now, there was nothing but warmth, and acceptance, and comfort to found in each other's arms?

When I woke up later that morning, it was to find that Dante had, as usual, abandoned me for the comfort of his own bed. I pulled a robe on and went to peek my head into his room, where he lay spread flat on his back, feet dangling off the side of his bed. I frowned at the boots on his feet. He must have gone out again after I'd fallen asleep. I didn't blame him. I was in the habit of dealing him nasty little shocks whenever his hands wandered, and considering he hadn't done anything inappropriate like that for a while, it was logical that he had to go somewhere else to get his fill.

Damn you, Dante. I stomped down the stairs with my arms crossed and wandered into the kitchen. Eva and Sparda were seated around the breakfast nook, steaming cups of coffees in front of them. I went to make my own, noting that Eva kept her head bowed down. Sparda was watching me intently.

"Got any plans for today?" he asked.

I turned to lean back against the counter, waiting for the coffee to brew behind me. Sparda was a completely different person - at least in appearance. Eva had been right, the boys did look like spitting images of their father. On the inside, he was still the same Sparda I'd known as a kid.

"That depends on why you're asking," I said.

Sparda sniffed and leaned back in his stool. "Are you working?"

"At the hellhole where they sell ice creams, yeah."

"They've got better paying jobs up north."

So, this was the route he was going. "So?"

"Just thought I'd make mention of it."

"What for? Planning on kicking me out, are you?" I challenged.

"Well..." Sparda started.

"Of course not," Vergil said from the door.

I swallowed a groan at his presence and gave Eva a grim stare. She was looking between me and Vergil, startled.

"Actually, moving out sounds appealing. I'll think about it," I said tightly.

"Now, Cora, don't..." Eva said, alarmed.

"Hush, love, she's old enough to make her own decisions," Sparda interrupted.

"What would Dante say, I wonder?" Vergil said.

We all looked at him as if he'd just dragged an even bigger issue into the room.

"I don't think he'd be very... compliant with this idea," Vergil continued.

"Well it's not his problem. He can come with me if he wants," I shrugged and turned to pour my coffee. "I'm clearly not wanted here."

"It's not like that, Cora," Eva snapped.

"You're trying to get rid of me. I get it."

There was silence behind me, and for a moment I thought they'd left. When I turned around, I caught Vergil and Sparda exchanging a look.

"It would be best if you went to live with your own family," Sparda said carefully, and finally looked at me. "Don't you think?"

"Sure. Why not? I'll pack my things and let Dante know where I'm going."

"Ah-da-don't," Vergil said, startled, walking up to me. I shrank away from him, clutching my coffee.

"Why not?" I asked warily.

"I don't think it's wise to wind him up about this," Vergil said, and lowered his voice as he leaned closer to me. "Let me talk to them. I can figure something out for you."

I blinked at the black liquid in my cup, and then frowned up at him. He gave me a half smile, and I wanted to run. Was he really being... nice? Maybe it was too early in the morning for my mind to register what was going on. Vergil wasn't nice. I had to clear my head.

"Whatever," I said tentatively, shifting sideways toward the door until I felt I was a safe enough distance to turn my back on him and leave the room.


	32. The Home Run

**It's been a long time coming. This was meant to be my surprise Valentines chapter like, two years ago? It took me 10 hours to write it. Another year of rereading it, revising it, adding to and subtracting from it. The hardest chapter I've done, EVERRRRRRRRRRRRRR. So please be kind with your reviews on this one as I still feel like an utter failure.  
td;lr This is also what is to blame for taking so long to update this fic. Not kidding you.**

**Rated M for blood and dodgy sex scene near the end.  
Ah, who cares.**

* * *

I still didn't quite know how, or why, Vergil managed to do what he did. By the time I'd finished getting dressed and ready for the day, he'd disappeared off somewhere with Sparda. Eva had helped me pack my things, only to inform me that I would be going away for a time-out as Vergil had suggested the idea. It was thus a surprise when I opened the car door – yeah, get this, they lent us their _car_ – to find Dante already waiting to chauffeur me to my new, temporary destination. He hadn't waited for me and Eva to say goodbye properly.

In fact, he kind of slammed the door in Eva's face when she started saying something about Vergil. I guess Dante was as fed up with him as I was. Vergil was creeping me out, big time, and I never made that a secret in our household. Vergil knew he was freaking me out – probably why he continued to do so – and so did Dante.

The drive had really taken it out of us by the time we got to our destination. We drove past large slabs of monuments that towered high above the simple flat roofed shacks and cabins that decorated the labyrinthine roads. Palm trees and tropical shrubs lined the cobblestone streets, and the embracing placid breeze carried the salt of the sea and the humidity prone to the coast. The resort couldn't have looked more like paradise even if you added angels to it. We pulled up in the parking lot, and I unbuckled my seatbelt.

"I'll go get the key," I said, even though I really wanted him to get out. But that would be unfair, since he's the one who drove us all the way, which is exactly what Dante would throw in my face if I even hinted at it.

"Alright," Dante let out a long tired sigh.

The reception building was small and cosy with potted plants and cottage furniture. The lady behind the counter was wearing a plain cloak, and some odd red symbol worked into the sleeve of the ivory material.

"Good afternoon, welcome to Fortuna Harbour Resort," the woman smiled. Or I think she smiled – it was hard to tell with the hood shadowing most of her features – but she sounded friendly enough.

"We've got a cabin booked under the name Eva for-" I cut off when I heard a car door slam, and turned to see Dante unloading our bags from the car. Dante was actually going to be a gentleman for a change? I turned back to the woman, slightly puzzled, "Uh, for the next three weeks."

The woman paged through a thick book with brittle pages, and finally tapped her finger. "Ah, I see. Yes, the cabin for two with self-catering facilities and the private courtyard." The woman took a gold key from a wall of brass and copper keys, and handed it to me. "You're in number eight. Right around that corner there." She pointed toward a rounded wall coated with golden climbing Ivy. "Enjoy your stay."

"Thanks," I muttered, and went outside to the car. "We're over there," I said, motioning briefly in the direction the woman had indicated. I reached to grab my bag, and paused in surprise when Dante actually swatted my hand away.

"I've got it. Go unlock so we don't need to hassle," Dante said.

"Okay, sheesh," I said, giving him an irate look before skipping ahead.

The courtyard was completely surrounded by the wall of red stone and Ivy, and it gave the cabin a feeling of isolation, like we were physically cut off from the rest of the resort. I unlocked the glass sliding door and pushed the pale gold draperies aside to view a spacious, inviting lounge. To my left there were two cane couches with thick, flower printed sofa padding and a small TV mounted on an equally small stand. To my right the entire wall was of rough red stone, a log fire situated in the middle of it with a woven basket loaded with firewood beside it. The lounge led directly into the main bedroom, which was only big enough to house a king size bed and nothing else.

The spare bedroom was across from it a little down the hallway, with a smaller bed but more space to accompany a bedside table and a closet. I turned around when I heard a thud, and saw Dante had dropped all the baggage right inside the door. He was slumped across one of the couches, one arm behind his head, the other across his face.

"Want anything to drink?" I asked, making my way to the small kitchenette off the lounge.

"I'll get for myself later, thanks."

"Are you okay?" I said, arching my eyebrows. "It's not like you to say no to me. I don't think the word holds any meaning to you."

"I'm just tired."

I went to unwind on the other couch with a can of soda and surfed the channels on the small greyscale television set. Children's puppet shows, infomercials, cooking shows, boring boring boring. I flicked the TV off with an annoyed jab at the button, and decided to go for a wander around town by myself. My curiosity was provoked by those funny monuments, and I wanted to get a better look at them. Dante was fast asleep, and he wouldn't be interested in doing proper sight-seeing anyway.

The people seemed friendly enough, even if their hooded cloaks made them look a bit creepy.

But there were children laughing and running through the streets playing 'catch the thief', and the atmosphere was one of tranquil contentment. Just a peaceful little coastal haven, nothing sinister going on behind closed doors – at any rate, I couldn't pick up on any demonic auras in the nearby vicinity.

The monuments turned out to be cultural artefacts of some sort, according to the locals I queried in the surrounding area. There was something off about the pretty engravings in some of them. The day drew closer to dinner time and I found myself scouting the streets for a diner of some sort. My problem was that I was used to the big city, where every second store was a cafe, and I got so lost in the maze of streets that I started to hate the quaint cobblestone streets with no names, the stupid little romantic houses without numbers. The sky dipped from pastel dusk to inky black far too quick, and I started to panic. Having a rumbling tummy accompany me didn't help much with my fragile composure falling away from me in pieces as I hurried blindly through the dark. _Good grief_, have these people never heard of streetlights?!

Slow, deep, steady breaths now. _Don't panic_, there's nothing to worry about, everything is fine... but I'm in a town with freaks in hoods and there's weird vibes in the air and I'm alone and I don't know how to get back to the damn resort...

Just as I thought it, the next turn threw me out into the middle of the floodlight lit main road. I swallowed a sigh of relief, and picked up my pace, heading in the direction I thought the resort would be. I should have brought my coat, the night was surprisingly chilly. Now... I'm pretty sure the resort was in this direction. Evidently, I was wrong, because I drew up short at what seemed to be the abrupt end of the small town. Nothingness stretched out before me. I turned back to the town, daunted, and had to restrain myself from running. So, the resort had to be in the opposite direction...all the way across town... bloody wonderful...

Lightning cracked and I jerked off balance in fright, nearly tripping over my own rushed feet. A second later, big heavy drops of icy rain pelted down on me, darkening the road and buildings around me, and dimming the already pathetic light sources I had available. I rushed for the first door that didn't look like it led into someone's home, and took refuge within. The moment I stepped into the dimly lit room, I backed up and searched for the doorknob to throw myself back out into the rain. Trust me to stumble into a bar filled with drunk men in a foreign town – when was luck ever going to become my friend?

The smell of beer circled through the warm air and threatened to lock my head in suffocation. Acid house music with a 150 beat per minute thudded from speakers mounted high on the deep crimson walls. The men were seated at sturdy round tables scattered about the pub - none of them noticed me, but they could any second... where the hell did the doorknob disappear to? I stopped my blind fiddling and sent a quick glimpse over my shoulder. The handle was further to my left, and I edged closer to it, trying to keep myself invisible against the wall. The shift in position gave me a different angle of the pub, and I saw that it was bigger than I initially thought. There were two sculpted steel billiard tables with low hanging, sharp floodlights suspended above them, highlighting them in the otherwise diffused pub, and what looked like a small bowling alley lit by tiny neon lights to the far left.

And I could feel eyes on me.

The doorknob was cool as china against my fingers, and I twisted it. The door opened ajar and the cool breeze from outside washed over me, and I was about to slip safely back outside, when something in the shadows moved behind the billiard table closest to me. A figure leaned over the table, cue stick in hand. The sharp light reflected off iced blonde hair pushed back from a smooth forehead, and it illuminated the familiar regal features drawn with concentration. Light blue eyes trained on the white ball inches from the tip of the cue stick, and then they slowly moved up and met my own gaze across the room.

My first reaction was to run, or scream, and go find Dante to tell him Vergil had followed us here. But his lips pulled into a small, cocky grin, and I found myself walking toward him.

"I was wondering when you were going to show up," Dante commented, taking in my slightly damp appearance.

"Don't do that," I said in relief, and reached up to smooth his hair back down over his forehead. "You scared the shit out of me."

"I didn't mean to," Dante said, returning to his game.

"Why are you playing by yourself? Pool is meant for two people," I said, observing the couple of empty beer bottles lined up along the edge of the table.

"There's the other cue stick, if you think you can beat me," Dante said, briefly nodding toward the wall.

I fetched it and powdered the tip. I returned to the table with a mumbled, "I got lost."

"The town is only so big. You wouldn't have stayed lost for long," Dante said.

"You're not mad I went out without you?"

"Why would I be mad?"

I blinked at him, stumped. "You threatened to use a leash on me if I ever went off without you again."

Dante changed his position and aimed with his cue stick, tilting his head slightly before taking the shot. He raised his eyebrows at me in response, and changed the subject. "Have you had anything for dinner?"

"Seriously, is food the only thing you ever think about?" I said, my blood pressure suddenly escalating to boiling point. "You don't even care if I'm okay or not? I've just been out the whole day in a town we don't know, and it's dark, and I just _happened_ to be lucky enough to stumble onto you here, and the only thing you're worried about is food?"

Dante straightened up and rested the back of the cue stick on the floor. He slowly turned the stick in a circle between his fingers, watching me with startled curiosity. "Clearly, there's no need for me to worry since you're in one piece and unharmed, and I was asking because I could hear your stomach growling since the moment you set foot in here," Dante said, and gave me a look that made me feel infinitely small. "And get a hold of your temper too. The last thing I want on this holiday is an emotionally charged girl to ruin my fun."

"You could at least pretend you care," I said weakly. His words hit me hard, partially because it was true, and partially because Dante had never been this straight forward with me before.

Dante shoved a wad of dollar bills into my hand. "Go eat something. And bring me back another beer."

Thoroughly dismissed, I left my cue stick leaning against the billiard table and headed toward the bar counter. The only meals they served were fish and chips, which turned out to be satisfying despite the fact that I didn't particularly like seafood. The balls were racked on the table when I eventually headed back, and Dante gave me an approving smile when I put the keg of beer down on the rim.

"Thanks."

"Welcome."

"Are we playing for anything?" Dante asked when I took up my cue stick once more.

"You and your bets. Why don't you give it a rest for a change? You always lose," I said, half joking, half pleading. "Can't we just play for fun?"

"No," Dante said slowly, and levelled his gaze with mine. "Winner gets the main bedroom. Are you going to break, or am I?"

I stared back at him in frustration. "The big bed? No way, it's mine! I'll break." If there was one thing I was good at, it was playing pool. I sunk a green stripe on the first power shot to break the group of balls apart, and sunk the orange stripe on my second shot. My third shot missed the pocket by mere inches, and I looked up to see Dante scrutinising the game.

"I've got this in the bag," I said.

"Don't count your chickens before they're hatched," Dante asserted, and sunk one after the other solid with ridiculous trick shots.

"You're cheating," I said, shaking my head when he pocketed the black ball and cue ball both at once, calling the game to an end. "You've got to be cheating."

"I don't cheat."

"You _always_ cheat when you win. You didn't miss one shot."

"Having skill doesn't make me a cheater."

"But I'm better than you at pool!"

"Evidently, you're not," Dante said, placing his stick on the table and looking at me expectantly. "Shall we call it a night?"

"Shall we –" I glared at him. "Oh, rub it in, why don't you?"

Dante smiled at me and shrugged in a devil-may-care way. "Sour loser, are we?"

"Bad winner, aren't you? You don't need to stomp salt into the wound. You won," I said sarcastically and patted him on the shoulder. "Good for you. You're not entirely hopeless after all."

"Shut up," Dante smirked. "Let's get going."

The rain had turned into a nasty storm when we stepped outside, and the drive to the resort couldn't have ended any sooner. When we got to the cabin, I hogged the bathroom a good while longer than usual. Not to spite Dante, although that was a bonus, but to savour some alone time for myself – something that was not possible with him around. The only place where privacy was guaranteed was the bathroom, hence why I was curled up on a pile of fluffy towels under the heated extractor fan, catching up on my reading.

Dante eventually came knocking on the door. "Are you alright in there?"

"I'm fine! Could you like, go away and wallow in your big bed of victory and leave me alone?" I bit back.

"You're not still hung up about that, are you?" His voice was slightly muffled through the thick door and the words barely discernable beneath the steady whir of the heater.

"Hmm," I replied.

"Cora, open the door. I need to use the bathroom."

"Ugh!" I cried and slammed my book shut in frustration. I wrenched the door open and started to brush past him to my room with a curt, "Enjoy", but he grabbed hold of my arm and stopped me in my tracks.

"Come with me."

"If you're gonna give me the bed because you feel bad, then save it. I don't want your pity prize," I said huffily, allowing him to lead me to the lounge.

"You don't think I would just give up my prize, do you?" Dante said, genuinely surprised.

"What do you want then?" I asked, and paused to survey the lounge. The lights were all off, the concertina sliding doors to the main bedroom pushed open to reveal the big bed adorned in scarlet and gold silk, like some sacred bed meant for royalty alone, and the log fire in the lounge was lit. The firelight made everything look softer, turned everything pleasantly warm, and I felt butterflies rear to life in the pit of my stomach when I glanced toward the open bedroom again.

Dante rested his hands on my arms, and then moved out behind me, gently nudging me forward before sitting down on one of the throw pillows scattered on the ground beside the fire. "I'll give you a compensation prize, if you win."

"A what?" I asked, and shook my head at him when he picked up a deck of cards. "Just let it go."

"You don't want to play to share the bed with me?"

"I think I'll pass." The words were easier to say because my damaged pride encouraged it. Another part of me vehemently protested against my rejection, because I wanted what he was offering – wanted it more than my conscience would admit.

"It's a pretty big bed," Dante said, shuffling the cards expertly. "More than enough space for two people."

"Go blow yourself," I said brusquely. Don't cave in, don't cave in...come on Cora, this is the first night and you're already unravelling. Eva didn't send us here to get up to mischief.

Dante stopped shuffling the cards to look at me. "I thought I'd give you a fair chance. Win-win for both of us. If you don't want it, I don't mind."

"Good. I'm going to bed. In _my_ bed. Goodnight," I said haughtily. He called a faint "see you later" after me when I stalked to the smaller bedroom. Yeah right, in your dreams. I locked my door, just to remind myself that I _could_ pull this off.

I spread out on my bed, and tried to carry on reading. It was difficult to properly concentrate because I kept waiting for Dante to chase after me and come knocking on the door. I weighed the option of going to see if he was mad at me or not for a while. It was the loud crash of lightning outside my window that made up my mind. I bolted from the room and tried to slow down my pace as I approached the lounge.

The fire had been put out, but there was enough moonlight for me to see Dante sprawled on his bed. I hauled myself onto it and crawled over his back to get to the other side of the bed.

"This doesn't mean anything," I whispered to him defiantly. I couldn't see his face in the dark, but I knew he was watching me.

"I didn't think it did," Dante muttered sleepily.

"_Good_," I said.

I tried to get comfortable, and then lay staring up at the ceiling. Another flash of lightning made me stiffen, and Dante chuckled softly. "I can't believe you still haven't gotten over your phobia of lightning."

"It's not funny," I hissed back.

"It is to me."

"Shut up," I said, scowling at him blindly. Was he purposely trying to wind me up?

"Is that bad?" Dante murmured.

I got the impression he was half asleep, maybe speaking to himself, but I answered anyway, "Finding my fear amusing, yeah, I'd say that's verging on evil."

"Is it bad that you can make me laugh?"

I turned onto my side to stare at him in confusion. "What?" There was no response but for his even breathing, and I prodded him lightly in the ribs. "Are you sleeping?"

He cringed away from me reflexively for a second before relaxing. I dropped my resistance barrier. His skin was warm when I cuddled up to him, and I nuzzled his neck softly with my lips. "No," I sighed my answer. "It's not bad at all."

**~...~**

Dante was scrounging through the fridge when I scraped together enough courage to just straight out _ask_ him what I wanted the following day.

"Could we go check out the cathedral and the museum?" I blurted out.

"What museum?" Dante asked over his shoulder.

"They've got some castle that they turned into a museum. The locals say not many people go there, but it's open for tourists who are willing to learn about the history of the town."

"A castle, hmm?"

"I've never been in a castle. Oh, please, please, _please_?"

"Let me get a sweater, " Dante said, finally closing the fridge with a bottle of sparkling mineral water in hand.

"Really?" I asked, blown over. Usually it was much harder to get Dante to do _anything_ that involved walking, or moving at all.

"Sure. I'll meet you in the car."

I expected him to fake a pulled hamstring from driving so much so he could stay and laze in the car, but there was none of his normal nonsense when we explored the castle of Fortuna. He didn't even complain, even though I knew his feet had to hurt because mine was screaming in protest. Maybe he was just pretending to be as curious and interested in the portraits and ornaments as I was, but Dante had never been good at faking anything.

We bought ice cream cones before we went in to check out the cathedral. I had the camera battery reloaded, and snapped pictures all the way. I took a snapshot of the glass dome in the ceiling of the cathedral, and turned to take another shot of the podium – and dropped the camera with a loud clatter on the marble floor. Other tourists turned at the loud sound, and a local girl acting as tour guide and who was babbling on about when the building had been built, stopped to retrieve the camera for me. I snatched it away from her, and nodded at the enormous statue behind the podium.

"What the hell is that?"

"Oh, this is the Dark Knight. It's a symbol of our faith," the girl responded in friendly tones.

"Your _faith_?" I repeated, staring up at the statue with round eyes.

"Of course. The Dark Knight is our saviour. If it wasn't for his heroic act, we wouldn't be here today..."

"But... but you're worshipping a _demon_," I cut in, staring at her in confusion.

"He was no ordinary demon. If you wish to know more of our religion..."

"That's quite alright," Dante spoke up behind me, and got hold of my elbow. "We know enough."

I stared over my shoulder at the tall horned concrete statue as he steered me outside, and then I exploded on him. "Did you _see_ that?"

"Keep your voice down. We don't want to attract any more attention to us than is necessary, understand?" Dante said from the side of his mouth, watching people pass us with a wary expression on his face.

"But... they're treating Sparda like some god!" I said, toning down my voice.

"And why shouldn't they? He _did_ save human kind."

"Are you listening to yourself?" I asked, shaking him off, shocked. "Sparda is _no_ god, and you know it."

"I beg to differ. He can pass as a god."

"Yeah, the god of bottomless stomachs and booze!"

"My father has a very delicate taste for the best of wines. Wine does not class as booze."

"If it can get you drunk, it's booze."

Dante sighed. "I give up."

"Because you know I'm right."

"Because I'd rather not get caught up in a debate that belongs in a seedy bar," Dante gave me a look. "I've seen enough of this place."

"We've only been here a week and you want to go home already?" I said, unable to keep my disappointment under wraps.

"That's not what I meant. I have something planned for us."

"You _planned_ something?" I asked with a giggle. "Well. You're just full of surprises lately."

Dante smiled cunningly and winked at me. "Wait until you see what I've got in store for you."

"Oooh, don't tease me like that," I said, giving him a playful shove. "What is it? Tell me!"

"Hmm... no."

"Oh, c'mon! The curiosity is going to kill me," I complained, linking my arm through his and tugging him closer as we wandered down the main road toward the car park.

"Why tell you when it's better that I show you?" Dante taunted good-naturedly, and I gave him a smack on the back for good measure.

"You're pure evil, you know that?"

"I've heard that before."

The surprise turned out to be a barbeque. To say I was overwhelmed would be saying a shark bite stung. He dragged the big cane couch from the lounge outside onto the courtyard for me to sit on, and I was forced to put my feet up. I wanted to help with the salads, but Dante threatened to tickle me until I did something unladylike – something every girl dreads, of course, so I stayed put. He brought the meat out to the gas burner, along with the array of barbeque utensils and spices.

"Need a top up?" Dante asked, eyeing my nearly empty glass.

"Sure," I shrugged. He took the glass and disappeared back into the cabin. Something was nagging at me. It was very faint, very small, and I could barely grasp onto it to look it in the eye, but it was something that caused weak and troubled tremors to shake my euphoria a little. We're fine. Everything is fine. Then why did I feel like something was out of place?

Dante reappeared with my glass filled to the brim with cider, and a big snowy white chef hat on his head. I burst out laughing when he went over to the gas burner.

"Where'd you get the hat?"

"I asked the magic white rabbit to conjure one for me," Dante said with a secretive grin. "Like it?"

"It depends. Does it have magic powers to bestow cooking abilities on you?" I played along.

Dante lifted the hood of the burner, and with a metal spatula he made a mind-boggling show of flipping the meat patties right out of the meat dish into the air. I stifled a giggle when I thought they were going to hit the ground, but with cat-like reflexes, he batted each one in mid-air and landed them perfectly on the grill without so much as glancing at them. He turned to me with a brash smile. "What do you think?"

"I want one too!"

Dante chuckled at me and sank down on the couch beside me. "You don't need magic to whip up something good. My mother taught you the tricks of the trade. You don't get any better than that."

"You're such a mommy's boy," I teased, snuggling up to him.

Dante shifted back and wrapped his arms around me. "Not really."

I sighed contently. "Now all we need is a big swimming pool and some music, and I'd be home."

Dante's arms tightened around me, and I closed my eyes when he pressed his lips to my head. His breath stirred warmly through my hair. There was no other time I was more thankful for having him hold me than I was right then, because I needed a safety harness to cling to when aching memories tried to resurface. I needed a rock to anchor me to the present, and Dante was that rock.

"You never talk about them," he said quietly.

"Yeah, well..." I said. I opened my eyes and watched the sunlight playing through the shadows that the Ivy coated beams created against the wall across from us.

"Well?"

"What's there to say? Shit happens," I said as lightly as possible.

"That's some serious shit. Cora, why don't you ever talk about them?"

"They're gone," I said, and the words still hurt like hell.

"They'll never truly be gone as long as they live on in your memory."

I felt my eyes water, and was happy that he couldn't see my face. "The past is better left buried."

"The past is what makes us who we are," Dante said pointedly. "I've never met anyone as selfless as you are. It's a rare virtue to be found in humanity. One that should be kept and cherished."

"There was nothing selfless about what I did. It was a stupid thing to do. I knew they were gone before I even started running toward the demon flood," I said, the lump in my throat swelling at the memory.

"That still took courage."

"With a side-order of insanity."

"Were you insane when you worked shifts to rid the city of demons? Were you insane when you slaved away to keep our family above poverty, and in doing so disregarding anything beneficial to yourself? Were you insane when you intervened at the school shooting?"

"No," I said, and sat up to look at him. "But I _was_ insane when I took up Rebellion against Vergil when he pushed you out of that tree and tried to turn you into spaghetti with his sword."

Dante's eyebrows formed into arcs above his eyes, and something flitted through those azure depths. "I agree."

"Tch," I grinned at his expression. "That also took a lot of courage."

"And insanity."

"Like I said," I shrugged, and added boastingly, "I still saved your sorry ass, either way."

"Don't expect me to praise you for that," Dante said.

"Don't expect it to happen again either," I said and frowned, relaxing back into the couch. "Your brother is scary. I still don't know what was going through my head. You make me do crazy things. And I don't know what was going on in your head to provoke him like that either."

"The unsolved mystery," Dante said with a quiet, distant smirk.

"Just don't do it again, okay? This break should do us all some good. I needed to get away from Vergil. I was starting to have nightmares about him again."

"Had any since we've come here?" Dante asked, amusement in his voice.

"No."

Dante smiled. "Good. Now c'mere."

I went into the crook of his arm willingly, and savoured the comfort I found in his embrace. The meal turned out to be one of the best we've ever shared because Dante, for a change, wasn't wolfing it down like there was no tomorrow. He made a genuine effort to make it a pleasant experience.

We dined outside with the stars as company. The log fire in the lounge was lit and the fiery light flooded out from behind us, merging with the pale rays of the moon pouring down on us. Dante poured us each a glass of delectable sauvignon blanc – the best Fortuna had to offer, according to him – and it went down nicely with the food. The television set was on to provide us with some background sound. At the moment it was on some music channel blaring out-of-date, turn-of-the-century, ancient ballads; the type of music that you were more likely to hear in an old age home than out on the street.

I arched my eyebrows when Dante poured me a third glass of wine after dinner and held it out to me expectantly.

"Are you trying to get me drunk?" I joked lightly, accepting the glass. The dark red wine swirled in the crystal glass, and it went down easy with a bittersweet aftertaste. Good wine; I had to refrain from smacking my lips together after each sip. My alcohol tolerance was embarrassingly poor. The second glass of wine had already started to kick my ass, but I didn't want to give away my vulnerability by declining his offer. For some reason – maybe because my anatomy was slowly starting to change, or my mind was evolving – I didn't slur when I got drunk. I did, however, get very loud and I could babble your ear off from miles away. That was easier to keep in check – if I shut up, Dante would never be any the wiser.

"Maybe," Dante said with a secretive smirk, leaning against the wall beside me.

I glared up at him suspiciously. "You are? What for?"

"I want to see what you're willing to do when you're sloshed," Dante answered.

"I knew this was too good to be true," I said, tossing the wine into a flower pot beside me and putting the empty glass down with a clear 'ting'. "You're an idiot."

I climbed to my feet and seized him by the wrists and forcefully tugged him to me before he could get a word of protest out. "You can't make me do anything I don't want to, you know that."

"Oh, I think I can," Dante grinned down at me.

"Don't pull a Vergil on me," I said, giving him a good punch in the gut. He backed away. "It's not funny."

We stared at each other for a moment. "I'm going to call it a night," I finally said.

He took hold of my hand when I started past him, and gently pulled me close to him. His fingers weaved through mine, his other hand came to rest low on my back. The warmth of his proximity soaked through my clothes and saturated my skin, invoking a fiery response from my own body. I could feel the colour creep up my neck and I kept my head down to hide my flushed cheeks. I knew I had to step away from him, but my limbs wouldn't function according to my demands. I felt like putty in his arms.

"Shall we dance?"

Dante didn't wait for an answer. He moved, and I moved with him. He took the lead and I followed, powerless to resist, helpless to take control of the situation. Our steps were slow, precise, and sensual; then quick, vigorous and heated, switching back and forth until I lost myself in the movement. His velvet gaze held mine captive, and the sheer naked adoration in their opal depths made me dizzy with desire. He twirled me and I'd spin away, and he'd reel me back in, closer each time, tighter each time, with a roughness that made my heart beat outside of my chest. He dipped me back and his slender fingers caressed my lips, slid down my throat, and his hand teased across my chest, his touch leaving fire in its path. I sucked in my breath as a thrill of excitement blazed through me.

He swept me back up on my feet with a roguish grin. "You look stunned."

"I am. You can dance," I gasped back, my cheeks warming up even more as he pulled me tighter against him.

I couldn't look him in the eye and reverted to watching his lips instead. Supple, perfectly sculpted lips; his top lip with a smooth dip, his bottom lip slightly fuller, tinted the warmest colour...I wanted to feel them against mine, I needed to savour their softness. I never wanted him to kiss me more than this moment, and I felt myself flowing toward him, bringing my mouth closer slowly, inch by inch.

"You knew I could," he laughed silkily, and I stopped moving, drowning in the sound of his voice.  
It sounded different, somehow; richer, smoother, like silk rather than the velvety tone he always used with me.

"Not like this," I breathed. My face was burning, but so was the rest of my body.

"Ready for the grand finale?" He asked, and twirled me out toward the side.

I stopped to look back at him, our fingers still entwined, and the world seemed to stand still when our eyes met. The moment presented itself on a white-gold platter, just as it always did, only this time there was nothing to deter us. I knew it, and from the flaming gleam in his eyes he knew it too.  
A bolt of exhilarated fear shot through me. Usually I was the one to try and advance things, to take control and seize the chance, but now I couldn't move. I stood waiting with bated breath, every nerve stimulated to tingly extremes, every inch of my skin yearning to be touched. The wildfire tension hung between us, tempting, teasing.

Dante was the one who started rolling it in, slowly reeling me toward him. My heart started to race, striking my chest so hard I could feel every beat jolt my body. This is it, this is it, this is it... The thought echoed in my head, and then cold dread overwhelmed me. I don't know if I'm ready for this...

He pulled me into his arms, and I nearly flinched away at the hard contours of his body pressing against mine. His lips claimed mine with a furious passion, sweeping me into a whirlwind of fear and excitement, and I could taste his need in the kiss itself. It took my breath away, and I lost all train of thought.

His hands caressed my cheeks with touches as soft as twilight, and then his fingers were sliding through my hair, his fingertips cool against my hot scalp. I flattened myself against him. I needed to feel him, all of him, with a frightening intensity. He broke away from me, parting our lips, fingers trailing out of my hair. We stared at each other, and I realized we were in the lounge. My mind tried to recall how we'd gotten inside, and then gave up seeking reason when Dante's hands snuck under my blouse and he pulled the fabric off over my head.

My arms dropped to my sides limply, and I stepped away, in feverish embarrassment scanning for anything nearby I could use to cover myself up. I wasn't that ignorant – I knew he'd seen his fair share of ladies, all of them with hourglass figures and cleavage that emphasised their womanhood. Where they were blooming flowers with flamboyant petals, I was a sprig with green nubs. I paled in comparison, and I felt the yearning fire in me start to shrink. I crossed my arms to hide my exposed breasts, feeling utterly lost and vulnerable under his piercing gaze. What the hell was I doing anyway –

My self-awareness went up a couple of notches when Dante pulled his shirt off. The firelight turned his skin into glowing amber and sent shadows dancing across his features, sliding in between the toned muscles adorning his abdomen, emphasising every inch of his perfection. If lust and temptation could combine themselves into a living being, they'd mould into something like Dante.

He forced my arms away from my chest, and moved in. His hands trailed over my skin, snaking up my back to compress me against him, sliding down my shoulder to cradle my breast and send sparks blistering through me. His lips conquered mine, more demanding this time. His hands were warm, gentle but firm, and I shuddered in anticipation at the confident, precise caresses he delivered, each touch sending me one step closer to infinite bliss.

Dante pulled away after a moment. I lost all coordination when he went down on his knees in front of me. He hooked his fingers into my jeans and wiggled them down my legs, taking my underwear along in the descent, all the while giving me a mischievous grin – a smile that bode all the devious sins of hell. I forgot to breathe. I stepped out of the bundle of clothing at my feet, barely able to lift my legs, and he tossed it aside in disregard.

My heart leapt up my throat and started doing summersaults in my head when he pressed his mouth to the skin just below my navel. His lips kissed their way down, slowly, torturous, building the inferno swirling inside of me. His fingers slid between my legs, forcing them apart, gently kneading my inner thighs – and then his mouth claimed home base. His tongue was warm, circling, coaxing the fire inside to the surface, obliterating everything else but the sheer sweet sensation he wreaked on me.

I hadn't realized I was holding my breath until it came out through my lips in a quiet, involuntary moan. I hadn't realized just how rigid I was with excitement either, not until his tongue tickled across a spot that made my head spin and my knees buckle. I lost my balance, and caught myself only to weakly sink to the floor in front of him in what could only be classed as ungraceful.

"Wow... sorry," I gasped shyly, and won a smile from Dante that wiped my mind clear.

I felt my throat grow thick in sudden terror when he wriggled out of his pants and I was faced with just how big his craving for me was. My heart plummeted back into my chest and started a heavy, sick thudding. Dante caught my expression, and frowned.

"What?"

"I...um..." I felt my face colour deep crimson, and squeaked out, "It's huge."

Dante sat back on his haunches to stare at me, stumped, then looked down at his erect member. He looked back at me uncertainly. "It's normal."

"Don't be stupid, it can't be normal..._you're_ not normal..." I said, grappling for ammo. I didn't want to do this. I _couldn't_ do this.

Dante pushed me down on the rug, his body covering mine, and his lips grazed across mine playfully. "Cora...just shut up," he said with a husky laugh.

I obeyed. His skin rubbed against mine, like heated velvet. The sensation nearly short circuited my brain.  
His mouth locked onto mine, and our tongues curled and twisted together in a dance for dominance. Then his lips increased their pressure, and my body stiffened like a slate of steel when I felt him seek entry. Dante paused, lifted off me a little to gaze down at me.

"Now what?"

"I... don't know if..." I started uncertainly.

"Relax," his hand snaked down between my breasts, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake. He pressed down on my hip gently. "You're getting far too excited. Breathe. Relax." He kissed me lightly, and teasingly dragged his lips down my chin, over my throat, into my neck.

"I don't know if we should go through with this," I blurted out, blinking back tears of frustration and shame. He nipped my neck – soft, firm little bites that sent red-hot bolts shooting down my spine. It hurled me into chaotic confusion.

"Do you want me to stop?" Dante said quietly, pushing himself up with his arms to look down at me.

"I don't know," I repeated weakly.

"Relax. It'll make it easier for both of us," Dante said, pressing his fingertips down on my hip again. Then, with a not so light or playful smack on the side of my thigh, he repeated with more emphasis," _relax_."

My body slumped under his touch, and I fought hard to lock down the impulse to squirm away from him. He kissed me – a long, hard, heated kiss, and then he tore into me with sharp, burning leisure, and I knew any chance to escape this was gone. I dug my fingers into his arms, kept my eyes pinched closed, kept the instinctive whimpering choked up in my throat – because it _hurt_. No one ever told me it was gonna hurt.

I wanted it to stop before he even made it all the way inside. I couldn't find my voice, and dug my fingers deeper into his skin in helpless agony. The unspoken plea bypassed him, because he wasn't stopping. Deep, slow, deliberate strokes that made my breath hitch. Deeper, harder, feeding the fear in me that he wasn't going to let me go until he was satisfied. I was on fire, and I wanted nothing more than to tip a bucket of arctic water on it and kill it, because this fire was destructive and painful.

I looked up at him, and he looked at me. I opened my mouth, the word 'stop' on my tongue, but he brushed a finger carelessly over my lips and shook his head brusquely, making a hushing sound. His gaze never once wandered from mine.

I'd never been more petrified in my life; the times when I'd nearly been killed by demons, when my life had been threatened, those times all paled in comparison to the pain and fear now merged inside of me like a metal vice. I'd never been good at hiding my emotions – I had to have STOP written all over my face. So why wasn't he stopping?

There was a disturbing glint in his gaze that scared me to death. He knew he was in control of the situation. He knew he had the power, and he knew he was hurting me – and he was enjoying it. _Really_ enjoying it. I retracted my fingers from his arms and pressed my hands against his chest to push him away.

"Get off!" I managed to gasp out.

Dante gave a curt, airy, malicious chuckle. "Uh-uh," he said, and threaded his arms beneath my shoulders, bringing his body down on mine and trapping my hands between our chests.

I wriggled vigorously under his weight, breathless with fury. "I _said..."_ The fight in me collapsed in on itself when he started to thrust into me with startlingly sensual, forceful strokes that choked the cries out from my throat. He put his head down, nuzzling his face in my neck, his breath fast and heavy blowing on my flushed skin. Friction...fire... a different sort of ache... endurable... better... _better_... was this what it meant to find pleasure in the pain? A good pain that sent rolls of euphoric sensation crashing back and up and down and through me, pouring gasoline into every nook and crevasse of my being...rising...

...rising...higher... filling...flooding... and then there was that moment, that split second when the liquid pleasure touches the flint, and everything ignites in fiery flames of bliss.

There was a swelling deep inside of me, then a steady, powerful release, and Dante let out a moan before his thrusting ceased and he all but slumped on me in exhaustion. The flames of satisfaction dancing inside of me began to dim, coming back in sharp, teasing flickers before subsiding into an even, smooth floor of glowing embers. The other fire inside of me was still raging full force. I managed to shove Dante off of me, despite him practically being a dead weight, and he dropped onto his back on the floor beside me with a deep, pleased sigh.

"Asshole," I spat, rolling away from him to sit on my knees.

Dante turned his head toward me, and wiped the sweat from his face before propping himself up with his elbow. "Didn't I please you?"

"P-p-please me?" I repeated in disbelief. "Are you fucking kidding me? If you want to please me, you can go to..." my words ran dead when Dante suddenly sat up, his expression changing from teasing to alarm, and he crawled right up to me.

I tensed and grabbed hold of his wrist when he shamelessly slipped his hand between my legs. "Stop it," I snapped at him angrily when I felt his fingers touch me.

Dante withdrew his hand a second later, and held up his fingers. Bloody fingers. I stared at the bright, pretty red liquid as if through a daze. Dante sat back on his rump beside me, briefly indicating the small puddle of blood a foot away from us, trailing in big red splashes right up to me.

"I wasn't aware you've never done this before," Dante said after a drawn out silence.

"I was saving myself," I said quietly, blinking back the tears that wanted to come.

"For who?" Dante asked, giving me a disconcerting glance.

I pursed my lips and gave him a steady look. "For you."

He rubbed his fingertips together, staring at the blood for another second, and nodded. "I see." He said indifferently. He hung his head, and pushed the damp hair back from his forehead to look at me, his tone of voice softening. "Sorry if I hurt you."

I stared back at him, stumped with a new wave of emotions. Did he really not know? Had he really been oblivious to how painful it was for me? Of course. _Of course,_ that was it. He had to have been. Dante wouldn't hurt me – he would _never_.

He cradled me then, and though I was sore and my heart was racing wildly, I let him.


	33. A Little Piece of Paradise

We went for a walk along the harbour, enjoying the sunny weather and the cry of seagulls in the sky. We'd been everywhere interesting in Fortuna, and had even had some fun getting lost in the forest. Every day and every night was filled with passionate, wildfire moments - and to my surprise, although I guess it wasn't really that surprising, Eva allowed us to extend our holiday.

Dante's answer about how long we were permitted to stay was vague, at best. I didn't care. If we could _live_ there, I'd be more than happy. The people were friendly, kept to their own, and once I got my head around the layout of the city, I fell in love with it.

I fell in even harder for Dante. I used to think that I was fond of him, maybe even loved him to an extent. I didn't_ know_ for certain. It used to be hard to get too close to him because he was just so... wild. Wild and carefree. It was addictive. I liked that about him, I'd always like that about him, and I didn't want to tie him down. I thought that I would crush and suffocate him, and eventually completely lose out, if I ever tried to 'tame' him.

But since we had come to Fortuna, it had always only been me and Dante. No other distractions. It_ was_ paradise. It felt as though, with every touch and every kiss, we became more connected, like we were merging into one, powerful force. Today, Dante seemed a bit withdrawn, which had me a little worried. When I slipped my hand into his, he kept his own grip limp, and he had a vacant, distant look on his face that I hadn't seen before. It scared me.

Fishermen were docking and the stench of fish rank through the air. I watched them unload crates of enormous tuna when we walked past them, and finally squeezed Dante's hand to get his attention. "Are you going to tell me what I did wrong?"

Dante looked at me, and the turmoil in his eyes nearly tore me into shreds. "You've done nothing wrong. I'm just... thinking."

"About?" I pressed.

"Everything," Dante breathed out after a second.

"Maybe you should stop thinking. We're on holiday, and it's all good, right? We haven't had this much fun in a long time."

"It's been a while," Dante agreed with a quirk of his eyebrows, and studied me uncertainly. "It's not real."

"What's not real?" I asked, stopping to look at him in confusion.

"This. Any of this," Dante made a slight gesture with his hands. "I'm going to wake up, and all this will be gone."

"Can you be any more paranoid?" I asked, stunned, and felt a new bucket of worry drop over my head. "What spurred this on? It's not like you to get this way."

"We're going home in four days," Dante said. He couldn't look me in the eye – he hung his head, his shoulders slumped in defeat.

"We could elope," I suggested playfully. "But then Sparda would hunt us down, and your mom would kill us."

"We could..." Dante said thoughtfully.

"I'm joking, dumbass," I said, giving him a little slap on the shoulder. "Look, we'll make the best of it. We'll just keep hold of the memories we've made here, and hold onto that when things get tough, and when times are bad it'll carry us through."

"It's not going to be that simple, Cora," Dante said, and took my hand in his. He stared at me for a moment, and pressed his lips against the back of my hand. "I think..."

I stared back at him, my heart thudding in my chest. Whatever he was going to say, I knew it was going to be something mind-blowing, something that will change _everything_ forever. The word 'propose' and the faint sounds of fantasy wedding bells rang in the back of my head. Dante cupped my hand with his other hand. Oh, hell, he was gonna go down on his knee right then and there, in front of everyone – and my hair is in such a mess, damn it –

He didn't. Instead, he gently pulled me closer, crushing me against him, and kissed me. It wasn't the type of kiss he'd used to prod the wildfire attraction between us, and it wasn't entirely sensual either. His lips trembled against mine. Something was very, very wrong. I broke away from it.

"Tell me what's wrong," I pleaded. He was really scaring me. He wouldn't look me in the eye, and when I tried to cup his face in my hands and force him to look at me, his own hands came up to counter mine softly.

He pressed his forehead to mine. There was a shattering behind his eyes that cut deep into my core. "I think..." Dante breathed in a voice I barely recognized. "I'm in love with you."

He ripped away from me so fast that my heart jolted to a momentary halt in my chest. He walked away from me, and I stared at him in total bewilderment. Then my heart kicked back into gear, and my mind started working again, and I was on his heels.

"Big whoop. You think I didn't know that already?" I said, tugging him to slow down his pace. "You had me worried there for a minute."

"You should be worried," Dante said, shaking me off almost roughly. "When we get home, things are going to be very different."

"Different how?" I asked.

Dante caught his breath, and shook his head at me, seeming to be at a loss for words. He licked his lips and narrowed his eyes at me. "Has it gone away?"

"Huh?"

"Your upset stomach. Has it gotten any better?"

"What does my tummy bug have to do with anything? What do you mean things are going to be different? Good different, right?" I snapped.

"Tummy bug," Dante repeated with a chuckle. "Is that what you're going to call it?"

"What are you talking about? So I'm sick, what else can you call a tummy bug that empties out your guts every morning?"

"How about a halfbreed?"

I stared back at him as if he'd just punched me in the face. "Say what?"

"Oh, come _on_. We spent a couple of nights together, and a week later you pick up some mysterious stomach virus? Hardly, Cora, hardly," Dante chided impatiently.

"A_ couple_ of nights? _Really_, a couple? I haven't been keeping score but it happened more than just a couple of times," I snapped, feeling that old, old anger he used to evoke boiling upward.

"I-"

"I'm not one of your stripper g-"

"Shut up," Dante growled, wrenching me against him. "This is not the time to get snarky."

"It's food poisoning," I retorted icily up at him. How fast did things just go downhill? I was still pondering in the far back of my mind how we were going to get past this hiccup when Dante lowered his face to mine. For a second I thought he was going to kiss me.

"Tummy bugs don't have heartbeats," he said frostily.

I felt the colour drain from my face, and leaned against one of the boating pillars when he let go of me. "It's... you can... no way."

Dante turned his back on me and I stood in shocked immobility when he walked off. Reality struck at me like a venomous snake intent on taking down its prey, and I sank down onto the wooden deck weakly.

I didn't go back to the resort. I stayed on that little spot beside the docks, legs dangling over the deck with jellyfish pumping through the dark blue ocean water beneath me, and seagulls squawking and pacing the rocks of the embankment nearby. The sun burnt down on me, my stomach rumbled, and as dusk began to fall, it brought with it the now familiar chill of night.

I couldn't think. I couldn't feel anything.

No... that's not entirely true. I didn't _want_ to think, I didn't want to picture what Eva was going to do when she found out. I'd betrayed her trust in us. This was exactly what she'd been lecturing me about, _exactly_ the reason why she'd drilled her message into my head when I hit puberty – _remove yourself from the situation._ I didn't want to look Sparda in the eye, because if Dante could hear a heartbeat, Sparda was likely to hear it, too. He'd been much more apprehensive about me and Dante than Eva had been. He'd crack a coronary or implode with fury when we got home, because he would be the first to know.

And I didn't want to think what this meant for me and Dante. Yes, there was love, much of it, but was it enough? They say when drastic events occur in any relationship, it either breaks you or it makes you stronger. I didn't want us to break, but I had doubts that this was going to bring us closer. The fact that Dante had just abandoned me on the docks was one hint toward that reality. The fact that he hadn't come looking for me to reconcile his sudden departure confirmed the first hint.

It was getting very late by the time I forced myself to go back to the cabin. Dante was casually slumped on the couch and watching television. He didn't even so much as glance at me.

"We need to talk about this," I said, blocking his view.

His eyes were like slabs of hot-ice that scorched into my soul and froze me with painful chills of terror. "There is nothing to talk about."

"You can't just tell me you love me and that I'm...I'm..." I stammered, unable to get the words out, and I rambled on in frustration, "And then you just get up and leave me! I didn't plan for this so don't be pissed at me! This is your fault!"

"Right, because I impregnated you without your consent," Dante said angrily.

"Don't get smart with me, you dumbass! Why didn't you make precautions?" I shouted back at him.

"I was under the impression you were on the pill."

"Well what the fuck gave you that idea?"

"The packet of pills in your bag."

I paused in my ranting, breathing hard, and stared at him in disbelief. "My...my bag? You went through my... Oh, good mother of... that's not _my_ bag! It's an old thing Lorry forgot at my place and I took it over. I've never _been_ on the pill," I said, and stopped when the realization poked a hole through my whirling dark anger and shone a blinding beam of light in my head. "Wait a minute... did you plan on us sleeping together?"

"Yes."

His fury was twice as cold and ferocious, and my own temper shrivelled up and dispersed into tiny snowflakes, leaving behind an awful, hollow fear. Not fear of what lay ahead – fear of _him_. I'd never been this afraid of Dante before. I retreated from the lounge with a muttered, "Damn asshole", and headed for my room. I had to get away from him, get some space to breathe. I had to get home. Not to Eva and Sparda, I mean I needed my friends. There was nowhere in the world where I would find acceptance now other than with them – because that's what friends are for, right? Pick you up when you're down, stand up for you when everyone else is against you, offer a shoulder to cry on when you needed comfort. I was shoving my clothes into my bag when Dante's hands suddenly grabbed hold of mine and he spun me around to face him.

"You can't run from this."

"I'm not running from this, I'm running from _you_," I spat back in his face, trying to shake him off. "Let go, you're hurting me."

"Don't," Dante snarled, and I felt my entire body go still at his voice. "You need to listen to me carefully." He said, bringing his face closer to mine.

His eyes were warm – fuck, how could they hold so much passion and warmth in them when his voice was as sharp and deadly as a steel sword? I couldn't help it, I was so terrified I started to shake, and my legs disappeared beneath me. Dante caught me and gave me a gentle shove onto the bed. "If you run, I will find you. Wherever you go, I will follow," he said, and then his voice relented and softened. "Don't make me angry, Cora."

I stared up at him blindly.

"We need to plan what we're going to do about this," Dante said seriously, sitting down beside me.

"Well, what do you do when a plane is on fire?" I said, staring at him.

Dante paused thoughtfully for a second, and then gave me a look that would have slapped me. "You're not suggesting what I think you are."

It was a command. I pursed my lips and glared at him helplessly.

"I'll figure something out. I think that, until then," Dante hesitated, and awkwardly put his hand on my knee. "We shouldn't talk about it."

"But-"

"Cora, I said don't."

"Sparda will know," I finished weakly.

"Leave Sparda to me, I'll deal with him. I'll deal with all of this."


	34. Cheers to New Beginnings

"I think we're over," I said softly when the landscape around us began to look familiar again.  
We were on our way home, a week later because Dante was adamant 'we' needed more time to think things through, and even though his hand on my leg was comforting, I couldn't get the iciness I sensed in him that night out of my head.

"You think so?" Dante asked just as quietly.

I glanced over at him, following the outline of his profile with my eyes. It hurt to say it, and it hurt even more that he wasn't protesting.

"Yes," I said, leaning against the window. I stared gloomily out at the scenery of green shrubs and yellow dust.

"Then it's done," Dante said.

I swallowed hard at the lump stuck in my throat. He moved his hand away from me to grip the steering wheel. He didn't look upset, and I had the painful flash of reality that, maybe, he hadn't felt about me the way I'd felt about him.

How could things change so fast?

We pulled up outside the fortress a short time later. Dusk was setting in, turning the house into a black shadow with burning eyes. Dante was the first out of the car. He held the front door for me and I stepped inside. The sound of cutlery scraping against china and the smell of something spicy met me upon entry. It looked and sounded so homely, but for the first time in my life, I didn't feel like I was home.

Dante closed the front door behind us and started for the dining room. "Cora, are you coming?" He paused in the doorway to the dining area and looked at me expectantly.

"I'll catch you later," I said, heading for the stairs.

"Seriously? They haven't seen you in over a month, I'm sure they'd appreciate you at least showing face before you disappear," Dante said pointedly.

I stopped and retreated a step, and froze. "Excuse me? What do you mean, before I disappear?"

"That's what you do when things don't go your way, isn't it?" Dante said.

I stared back at him, stunned and hurt. A second later, the stinging tears behind my eyes chased me up the flight of stairs and to the privacy of my room.

Eva came in not very long after. I was curled up on the bed, hiding my face in my pillow and bawling as hard as I could. She gave me a hug, and rubbed my back soothingly.

"It's okay. Sometimes these things can't be helped," she said gently.

"You know?" I sobbed.

"About you and Dante? Yes, sweetheart, he told me," Eva said. "I wish there was something I could do to fix things, but it is what it is."

My heart was going to convulse. It hurt so much, I could barely breathe through it. "Eva?"

"You'll be okay," she said reassuringly.

"I want my mom," I sobbed even harder. She pulled me into a tight hug and rocked me back and forth.

I couldn't sleep that night. I kept staring at the wall that separated my room from Dante's, wondering if he was on the other side watching the same wall. It was obvious he didn't care. Still, I had to fight hard not to go to his room and grovel for another chance.

It was still dark out when I finally fled my room to go find some kind of comfort in the kitchen below. I made a cup of tea and found some thin chocolate biscuits in the cupboard, and sat munching on them, staring out at the dark. I could see the swing in the moonlight, swaying gently in the breeze.

The front door burst open and laughter filled the front foyer for a moment. Familiar laughter. I was about to get up to go see who it was at this insane hour of the morning – the microwave read 5:34am – when I recognised the voice as Lorry's.

"Ssssh-ssssh," she giggled, "stop it. What if your parents wake up?"

"You worry too much."

They came barging through the dark kitchen, heading for the back door, holding hands and snickering like two naughty kids. I couldn't believe it.

"Dante?" I snapped.

They froze in unison. I got up and flicked the light switch, and wished I hadn't. They were both in various states of undress. It was painfully obvious what they were about to get up to. What I didn't expect was the hard look Dante was giving me, as if he was challenging me to say something more.

"Cora," he said curtly, and with a little salute in my direction, he waltzed Lorry out through the door.

I stared after them, fighting hard against a fresh flood of tears. I took refuge behind the thick curtains on the window bunk in the family den, crying soundlessly into my arms. I never physically fell asleep, but when I eventually lifted my head from my arms, it felt like I'd been asleep. My eyes felt sore, my head was numb, and the rest of my body was chilled. I stared out the window as the sun crept up over the sycamore and oak trees in the backyard, gleaming off the morning dew on the grass.

Another day. Like nothing had ever happened. Like my heart hadn't just died inside my chest. It reminded me too much of the days following my family's deaths. How could the sun keep shining, how could the world still look so beautiful when I was bleeding and torn apart?

I jumped when the curtains were suddenly drawn open beside me. Vergil blinked at me, startled, and I stared back at him.

"Hi," he said.

Part of me wanted to yank the curtains closed again, and yet another part of me wanted to make some snide remark in response. I let out my breath, and feeling heavy, cold and hard, I dragged myself away from the bunk instead. Sparda passed me on the way upstairs with a tentative greeting. I couldn't look at him, I don't think I even properly acknowledged him. I closed my bedroom door behind me, noting my bags in the corner of the room. I wasn't even going to bother unpacking. I wasn't wanted here anymore. At all.

The idea of getting in touch with my aunt and uncle was too much at the moment. What would I say? Would I even be able to face them? Did I want to? I changed into sweatpants and a tanktop, some of the only clothing items of mine that hadn't been packed, and picked my keys up off the dresser.

When I left, do I get to take my bike, too? I walked out of my room the same moment Dante appeared from his. I saw him from the corner of my eye. It didn't look like he had a shirt on. I don't think he noticed me, or maybe he made a show of ignoring me, either way, I practically flew down the stairs.

Get away, get away, have to get away from this place, away from him.

I mounted my bike with difficulty and took off in the direction of the city. The Hot Spot didn't look busy from the outside, but when I went in, the place was packed. A few demons noted my presence, but the majority were captivated by some lanky, half-humanoid, half-alien demon with a shell-like breastplate. He, or maybe it was a she, was leaning against the bar counter, speaking in a raspy voice that was both deep and high pitched.

I slunk up to the bar, off to the side, and was thankful when Yt shoved a drink at me without needing an exchange. I settled onto a stool and sipped at the thick, smooth pale liquid. It tasted surprisingly good.

The demon up front was rambling about something to do with Sparda. I had a pretty good idea how the demon realm now perceived the traitor. I also knew to shut up and not draw attention to myself. I finished my drink and was on my second when a big body plodded itself down right beside me.

"Little one."

"Kurst," I responded.

We sat in companionable silence for a while before I decided to drag my thoughts away from Dante. "You look different."

"I ranked up," Kurst said.

"Nice."

"You seem different, too."

I thought about it for a moment, and shook my head. "Nah. Must be because you haven't seen me in a while."

"Sure."

Never, ever trust a demon. If Dante hadn't already proven that to me, I'd have to be thick as demon dung.

* * *

**It would be lovely (and very encouraging) for you to leave me a review. I know you're reading. Please don't leave me hanging. Love it or hate it, let me know in a review.**


	35. The Precipice of Destruction

It was like trudging through a nightmare. Day after day he tortured me with his cool and casual distance, and I'd become so numb to everything around me that I found myself wondering whether I really was in a nightmare. The worst thing is that the only time the numbness gave way, was when we were in the same room.

Then there was nothing but excruciating pain.  
And hate.

I never thought I could hate anyone so much. It was overwhelming, and terrifying. It took a lot of self-control not to throw a cheap shot at him every time our paths crossed. Not that I saw much of him - either he was out, or I was, and both our favourite hang outs were conveniently on opposite sides of town. It was the only reason why I hadn't killed him yet.

I had just gotten back from the Hot Spot and made my way to the family den. I didn't expect to see Eva and Vergil still up, and I hung back for a moment, watching them.

"It'll work," Vergil was saying.

"It's worth a try," Eva said tiredly.

"It will work. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about."

I groaned inwardly as every nerve in my body tingled, and spun around to make my way to the kitchen. I can't remember the last time I ate. I haven't had an appetite for a long time, thanks to Dante and his evil spawn, I'm sure.  
I threw myself into one of the stools, irritated that I'm even thinking about him. He didn't care, so why should I?

"Do you want to talk about it?"

I recoiled at her voice beside me. Eva put her hand on my shoulder.

"What?" I asked.

"About you and Dante. I know you two have been having it really tough..."

"You mean_ I_ have been having it tough. Dante doesn't care."

"He's hurting in his own way," Eva said, and I picked up on the defiant tone in her voice. Had it always been there? Had I just been blind to see it? Of course she would take his side.

"What do you want me to say?" I snapped.

Eva's eyes flashed back at me, but she kept her voice level. "What happened? That's all I want to know. Why did you break up?"

I leaned my elbows on the kitchen counter, and put my chin on my hands. "Because he knocked me up."

"What? How?" Eva gasped, and shook her head at my incredulous stare. "He didn't mention anything about this to me."

"Why would he? He told me to shut up about it."

"Did... have you decided what you're going to do?" Eva asked, avoiding my gaze. She looked wounded. I felt a spark of revenge.

"No. I don't want it. He's been unclear about what he wants. I'm going to get rid of it, one way or the other."

Eva stared at me in shock. "This isn't like you."

I glared at her. "Really, Eva."

"You... we need to think things through. Decide what we're going to do," Eva said slowly.

"Funny, that's exactly what Dante said."

"What's this?"  
We both whipped toward the kitchen door to see Dante lounging against the frame. He looked tired and content. It made me want to throw something at him.

"Nothing," I breathed and looked at Eva pointedly.

"I'll leave you two to talk," Eva quickly excused herself.

"We're on talking terms now? I missed the memo for that," Dante remarked as she slipped past him.

"I missed the memo where we weren't on talking terms," I retorted, and looked away when he turned to me.

"There's nothing much to say, is there?" Dante said icily. "It's pretty obvious that you and Vergil-"

"Not that crap again," I groaned, trying to hide my head beneath my arms. I lifted my head slowly when he came to lean on the counter beside me. His face was so close to mine, I could feel his breath wash over my cheek.

"The Idiot says it all, doesn't it?" he said.

"You are an idiot," I snapped back. "You'd think after everything we've been through, you'd be able to trust me a bit more."

"Really?" he asked, frowning at me angrily.

"You know what? Shut up. We both know this isn't about Vergil-"

"_Yes_ it is!" Dante slammed his fist into the counter.

I sat up straight and glared at him. "Wow. Just... you never cease to amaze me. I'd have thought you'd grow a pair, y'know, be a real man, but you're still stuck on all that childish shit."

"Vergil has_ everything_ to do with this," Dante huffed. He was clenching his fists, and his face was contorted in carefully controlled rage. "He's always had it out for you-"

"Shut up about Vergil, for fucks sake! I haven't even talked to him since we've come back from Fortuna! If you'd cared, you would have known that!"

"He's always been trying to mess things up between us," Dante said angrily. His eyes darted across my face, as if he was looking for something. "Using me, using you, using my father, using my mother, turning us against each other..."

"_What are you even on about_?" I exploded. "Tell me, how has he turned me against you? Is it because he forced me to listen to you and Lorry going at it? Did he force you to go to Love Planet?"

"That's not what I meant!"

"You chose to do those things, Dante. Nobody made you do it."

"You agreed to it!"

"I didn't think you'd go off and find another girl while I was still here! I expected more of you, for some stupid reason."

"Wait, what do you mean while you're still here? Were you planning on going somewhere?"

"Well considering it's over between us, there's nothing left to hold me back, " I said, breathing hard in an attempt to fight back my tears.

Dante licked his lips and slumped into the stool beside me. He was quiet for a moment. "Isn't there?" he asked.

He looked at me, and I looked back at him. I eventually found my voice. "There's nothing for me here."

"You just got back."

"We've been back for over a week," I said, and frowned at him. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"I haven't seen you in a while," he said, and the hardness in his voice wavered.

"So? It's not like you don't have company," I shrugged, trying to hide the hurt. "Plus, why do you care? We're over anyway. Or do you like torturing me?"

"Torture you?" Dante repeated blankly.

"Don't act stupid," I said irritably. "You know how I feel about you, and while we're on the topic of torture, have you decided what we are going to do?"

"Uh..."

"Come on, Dante," I sighed impatiently and glared at him in annoyance. Now was not a good time to play ignorant. "I don't want this, you don't really want this, otherwise you wouldn't have agreed to end us. Right?"

Dante leaned his head back, and his eyebrows knot together in a little frown. "Are we talking about getting back together? Because if we are..."

"Am I interrupting something?" Vergil asked.

I sent a fleeting glance his way and felt my whole body tense in annoyance. "Yes, you are, actually, so kindly fuck off."

Dante glanced at Vergil, too. "Can you give us a minute?"

Vergil lingered another moment, and then he was gone.

"And no, I'm not talking about getting back together. I didn't realise that was even an option, Dante," I hissed at him. "I'd like to get this thing sorted out before I get all bent out of shape."

"That's what I'm trying to do, sort this thing out," Dante said, running his hands through his hair in aggravation. "We're not on the same page here."

"Evidently not," I growled.

"Let's go out back," Dante lowered his voice, glancing toward the kitchen door suspiciously.

I followed him out into the black night. The sensors came on when they detected our movement, and the yard lit up with floods of gold. Dante slumped into the swing, and took hold of my hand. I stared at our hands, confused, and then pulled away from him.

"Don't play games with me, Dante, I can't take it anymore," I almost sobbed.

"Then let's cut to the chase," he said simply.

"Fine. I want an abortion."

We stared at one another for what felt like an eternity. Dante blinked slowly, and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. He stared up at me for another moment, his light eyes piercing and suddenly very frightening. "C'me here," he said quietly, beckoning with his finger.

I obeyed and allowed him to pull me down on the swing beside him. "I don't want to debate. I just want it done."

His gaze hunted across my face with cool clarity, and then he slumped back in the swing, still staring at me. I shifted uncomfortably and stared back at him expectantly. "_What? _Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Rewind a bit. Did you say abortion?" Dante said lightly, his eyes darting toward my stomach before locking onto my face again.

"Yeah," I said.

I watched him slowly lean forward again. He started to run his hands through his hair, and then stopped, holding his head. I cringed when his fingers curled and it looked like he wanted to dig the tips into his skull. His shoulders shook when he let out a strangled chuckle. "Fuck," he murmured. His laughter stopped suddenly, and a shudder went through him.

I wrung my hands together, watching him warily.

Dante moved abruptly, and took my hand into his before looking at me steadily. I cringed away from him. There was something wild and insane in his eyes, a look I'd never seen before. "Stay here, Cora. Do you understand me? Whatever you do, do _not_ move from this spot."

"Okay," I whispered.

"Swear you'll stay put."

"I swear."

"Good." Dante dropped my hand and I watched him stroll to the backdoor.

I had to suppress the urge to follow him – where the hell was he going anyway?

Gunshots erupted from inside the house, and it jolted me back into the swing in fright. I sat for a few minutes, staring at the house in bewilderment, wondering what the hell was going on when Eva came stumbling outside. Her dress was soaked with blood in front, her bloody hands pulling at her hair in distress, and she was crying hysterically as Sparda gave her a gentle shove out the door. She whirled around and hammered on the door, leaving bloody handprints on the glass.

"Sparda! Let me in! _Sparda_, _let me in!_" Eva shrieked in a horrible voice, slamming her hands onto the door and yanking at the doorknob in vain. She ran to the window and pounded her fists against it helplessly. "_They're going to kill each other! Sparda!_"

I watched Eva frantically trying to open the windows by rattling them, before helplessly resorting to banging the door down once more. I wanted to go to her and find out what had happened, to see if she was okay –there was so much blood on her - but my legs wouldn't obey me. I sat as still as a statue, staring at the petrifying sight.

The gunshots ceased, and then Sparda was propelling a bloody Vergil out into the yard while trying to keep Dante at bay. Eva launched herself at Vergil, tearing his coat off to press her hands to his hole-ridden vest.

"Come away... come away from the door, honey," Eva stammered, trying to steer him toward me. Dante had gotten him good, because Vergil's face streaked with pain when Eva tried to force him to walk. He straightened up and shook her off gently, and turned around when Sparda thundered, "_Enough of this!"_

"Come, come, come," Eva sobbed, tugging Vergil toward the swing. "You need to sit down... _Sparda_!… you're going to bleed to death..."

Dante broke past Sparda. He kicked the door right off its hinges. It took part of the doorframe out with it. Vergil paused to face his brother.

"You stay away from her!" Dante roared, whipping out Rebellion.

Vergil sent a glance my way, and smoothed his blood soaked hair back before flashing me a small smirk. The world around me shattered along with the sound of metal swords singing through the air and colliding with heated fury.

* * *

**Yeah, right, like I would let anybody do the naughty with Dante! :3  
Sorry Veebs, please don't kill me, haaaahahahaha!**


	36. New Divide

No, no, no.

"Sparda! Please!" Eva was screaming.  
I couldn't watch them. From the corner of my eye I could see a whirlwind of black and red, and hear the sickening wet sound of steel connecting with flesh. I smelled blood and tasted the rage and fear that clung to the air.

_Traitor...traitor..._

I slowly curled my legs up into the swing, and looked over at Eva. Bloody Eva. I glanced at the bloody handprints against the glass door, and Sparda coming through that door with his sword held ready.

No, no, no.

This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. I was back in my hellish nightmares. It had to be.

Eva was suddenly beside me, pulling me from the swing toward the house. I heard a roar and instinctively turned toward it. Eva stopped beside me, feeling the same compulsion to look. Vergil held Yamato in a motion that I knew, before he moved and before Dante moved, was going to disarm his opponent. It happened so fast but it felt like time had slowed down. Dante was striking at Vergil - and then Rebellion was in the air and Yamato was heading straight for Dante's chest.

_No!_

Sparda's blade came down and, in one strike, he removed Yamato ridiculously easily from Vergil, flicking it off to the side. In the same instant, Dante leaped for Rebellion, caught it, and would have driven it straight through Vergil's skull if Sparda hadn't deflected it with Alastor.

Dante let out an outraged cry as Rebellion was flung from his grip again, and then Vergil knocked him down in his haste to get to his sword.

"Enough!" Sparda shouted.

"Stay out of this!" Dante roared back and, in a streak of red, he was stalking toward Vergil with Alastor in his grip.

It took all of us a second to catch on what Dante had managed to do - Sparda especially looked stunned - and then Dante was wielding both Alastor and Rebellion as he headed right for Vergil.

"You want to fuck with me?" Dante breathed hard.

It was some show. Dante attacked and Vergil responded by deflecting the hits and teleporting. Neither of them were getting anywhere, and Dante was growing more and more agitated as he chased after his brother.

"What is going on with you?" Eva left her guard beside me to march up to them.

Dante was getting tired, but the fury behind his movements didn't waver. It looked like he wasn't going to give up.

"Please, Dante, whatever it is..." Eva started weakly.

Sparda was suddenly beside her, as if he expected Dante to turn on her, too.

"I told you to stay out of-" Dante started, and then he was launching at me with Rebellion. I saw him coming toward me before I felt the air stir next to me. I jolted away from the density of it, and watched Rebellion sink straight through Vergil's shoulder when he materialised beside me.

Dante gritted his teeth and withdrew the sword, only to stab it right through Vergil's gut. I watched him fall to the ground, and every ounce of me was reverberating with revenge.

"Dante, stop!" Eva cried.

"Still having fun, brother?" Dante ground out, digging the sword deeper.

Vergil choked in response, trying helplessly to pull the blade out.

_"Dante!"_

He leaned down on the hilt of Rebellion and glared down at Vergil. "We'll finish this one day," he hissed, and yanked the sword free mercilessly.

I watched Vergil struggling for breath, turning onto his side, staring wide eyed in disbelief and fury that Dante hadn't carried it through. Kill him. _He had to die._

Eva grabbed Vergil by the arm, crouched down beside him, worry plastered across her face. She kept sending wary glances up at Dante as she eventually managed to get Vergil to his feet. Dante stood his ground, clutching Rebellion and Alastor in both hands, glaring back at Vergil. Sparda grabbed his sword, but Dante didn't even seem to notice. Eva was spouting things about 'crazy' and 'dangerous' and 'calming down'. I don't think Dante even heard her.

I put my hand to my head. I felt sick, sick to my soul. The implications of what this meant was revolting. How did I not see it? How could I have been so blind? I'd known there was something different, something off, but I'd never have imagined that-

But then, I had known. At the pub that first night. At that coldness he displayed. I had known, I couldn't have not known it was him. I simply hadn't questioned it. But why-

My stomach churned. Control. That was what his hold was over me. He'd always been good at getting into my head, pushing the wrong buttons - and knowing the right ones to push. Don't question. Don't talk. Do. I looked from an angry Sparda to a furious, teary-eyed Eva. My gaze fixed on Vergil, and I backed away to join Dante's side.

Vergil was wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, glaring back at Dante. They'd never looked more identical than that moment. I touched Dante's sleeve tentatively, and expected him to pull away, or shake me off. Instead he looked down at me, and every part of me started screaming at me that I didn't even deserve that. Not after what I'd done. He ought to hate me. I was disgusted with myself, and inexplicably angry with him when he put his arm around my back and pulled me closer to him. He should have better than me.

"Back away," Sparda stepped in front of us. His mere aura was enough to make me and Dante retreat a few steps. "Now that we are all calm and civil, who would like to explain what the hell just happened?"

There was a beat where everyone stared at everyone else: Eva at Sparda, Sparda at Dante, Dante at Vergil - and then Vergil smirked at me.

_Kill him. Please, oh please, Dante, kill him.  
_  
I didn't realise I'd said it out loud. Dante let go of me and strolled up to Vergil, and kicked him down a second before Sparda could restrain him. It was so quick, at first I didn't know what he'd done. Vergil dropped to the ground faster than I'd ever seen, and Dante dodged Sparda's grip.

"You're a fucking asshole," Dante spat.

Vergil was rolling on his side, folded double, and I glimpsed where he was clutching just before Dante blocked my view and turned me around. "Let's blow this joint."

* * *

**...yes he kicked him in the nuts.**  
**Thank you for your reviews! I doubt this story will ever get finished without your support. I wuff you guys. :)**


	37. Tricked

I wanted to cry, and hurl, and kill something. I didn't resist when Dante helped me onto his bike, didn't ask where we were going or what we were going to do. We shared the same sentiments – we had to get as far away as we possibly could.

Time was untraceable at night. I don't know what time we'd left home, only that we had stopped twice to refuel the bike, and that dawn was breaking on the horizon when we finally pulled into a motel in an unknown town.

The motel room was small and simple with a large bed in the centre and an en suite bathroom. Dante crashed on the bed. I sank down into the rickety arm chair beside the bed and switched the TV on. News. I sat staring at it blindly, thoughts rushing through my head on the many ways I could kill Vergil. Or wanted to kill him. Practically, I knew there wasn't much I could do to him, but emotionally I wanted to tear him apart.

Dante's breathing eventually changed. I picked up on it, and glanced over to see he had finally fallen asleep. The room was quiet aside from the soothing sound. I watched him, and knew, deep down, that I had lost the only good thing left in my life.

I finally went to take a hot shower. I figured it'd be creepy if Dante woke up to find that I'd been sitting there for hours, watching him. I stood in the small cubicle, eyes closed, long after the water had gone from hot to cold. It felt good not to think. Focussed on nothing but the water running across my skin, and the sound of it raining down against the glass walls.

I could hear Dante walking toward the bathroom before he reached the door. I turned off the water and was reaching for a towel just as he opened the door ajar. I clutched the towel to me, but he didn't come inside.

"Are you okay in there?"

I chewed on my lip, and wrapped the towel tightly around me. "I don't know anymore."

"I'm going out to get us something to eat." Then he was gone.

Food. Oh, Dante. It really was his first and main concern, aside from sleep. I sighed and slowly got dressed. I was sitting cross legged on the bed, still towelling my hair, when he got back.

"That was quick," I snapped suspiciously.

"The motel's got a restaurant," Dante said, and paused to stare back at me. He hesitated a second. "It's _me,_ Cora."

"I know," I said, tearing my gaze from his to glare at the TV. "Sorry."

"I don't blame you." He sank down beside me on the bed and put the bag of takeaways in front of us. "Have you gotten any sleep in?"

"Can't sleep," I said. I haven't been able to sleep since we got back. No. Since Vergil and I got back. I felt my stomach knot.

"Hungry?"

I shook my head. We both stared at the TV for a while. Dante finally sighed and got up from the bed. "We've gotta go."

"Where?"

"Doesn't matter where. Vergil is on his way."

I balked at him. "What?"

"Let's go, Cora."

He didn't need to tell me twice. We were back on the road a short time later. I kept waiting to hear Vergil's bike coming up behind us, but it never did. I didn't know where we were or where we were headed, but I started to have my doubts whether Vergil really was chasing after us. Maybe Dante was paranoid. We pulled up at a gas station for the third time that day, in the middle of nowhere. There was nothing but miles and miles of desert all around us. The thing about the desert, of course, is that it hits freezing point at night.

Dante didn't pull right up to the station, though. He stopped just out of reach of the floodlights, idling. "Get off."

I slipped off the bike behind him and stood, uncertain.

"See that dumpster there?"

I surveyed the station and spotted the big dumpster beside the toilet door. "Yeah?"

Dante turned to look at me. "Get in. Hide. Don't come out until I come get you out myself."

_Grosssssssssss._

"Stick to the shadows. Don't let anyone see you. Stay out of range of the cameras."

I stood motionless when he revved the bike and slowly pulled into the station. Then I did as he said, moving as fast and quiet as I could. I couldn't lift the heavy lid of the dumpster, but the gap was wide enough for me to squeeze through. The dumpster was loaded with massive boxes and crates and glass. I tried to dig deeper, lowering myself into the trash until I found a large box on its side. I tried to push the waste and garbage bags aside as best I could and wiggled myself into the shelter of the box.

When I finally stopped moving, I heard his voice. I felt my eyes bulge in disbelief, straining my ears in denial. _No. It couldn't be. How?_

"I will find her."

"Go fuck yourself."

"It's_ mine_, Dante. Tell me where she is."

"No. What're you going to do, _make me_?"

"This is foolishness! You don't understand the implications-"

"_I _don't understand the implications? You're one to talk, taking advantage of _my_ girl-"

"Dante!"

"- and desecrating her with your dick!"

"Well. I wouldn't put it that way."

"Oh,_ really_?"

"In order for me to _desecrate_ her, she would have had to be unwilling…"

"If she had known it was you to start with-"

"What makes you think she didn't?"

"She's not like that!"

"Dante, you know, power attracts power."

"What the hell are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying it's her demonic side that is attracted to my power. I've seen her blank out countless times when the demon will take over. She'd have no memory of what happened afterwards."

"So you took advantage of that?"

"I did no such thing. She advanced on me."

"Yeah, right."

"You can't blame me. You know I've been fond of her long before you ever saw her as more than the annoying brat next door."

"There's one flaw in your story."

"What's that?"

_"I'm stronger than you._"

There was a long pause, and then Vergil's furious voice. "I will find her."

"Then go. Do whatever the fuck you want. You won't find her."

A motorbike started up, and sped off. I sat, breathless, terrified and freezing, listening to it fade into the distance until, finally, there was nothing but the sound of crickets and the steady hum of the lights. I don't know how long I was there for. I know that the lid of the dumpster lifted once or twice and new bags of rubbish were chucked inside, far above me.

It started raining, and soon that died down. The numbness of my skin soaked through to my core. I was just starting to believe that Dante had abandoned me when the lid flew off and I drowned in sunlight. A second later, a hand broke through the rubbish around me, took hold of my arm, and pulled me toward the surface.

"Sorry I took so long," Dante said softly, helping me from the dumpster.

"It's okay."

And it was okay. He'd come back for me, and when I looked around, there was no sign of Vergil.

"I lost him, for now," Dante said, taking note. "I'm taking you to your relatives."

"Won't he find me there?" I asked as we walked across the gravel lot to his bike.

"He's already been there twice. He won't go looking for you there again," Dante muttered, and pulled me onto the bike behind him.

"What about you? Won't he be able to track you down?"

Dante didn't answer as we peeled out of the gas station. I buried my face against his back and hung on tight to him, trying to make sense of how we were going to pull this off. It was then, by the time that we reached the enormous city of Prosperity, that I realised that Dante wasn't going to stick around. He couldn't. It would make it too easy for Vergil to find us. To find me. I was trying to make peace with this realisation, already thinking ahead on what my options were, when we stopped outside my aunt and uncle's apartment block.

Dante went inside with me. It was weird, seeing my relatives again after so many years. Aunt Babe looked a lot like Mom. The apartment had two bedrooms, and it was modestly decorated. They were overjoyed to see me. Aunt Babe promised to take me shopping when she noted my lack of luggage. I got to take a nice hot bath without anyone pointing out that I smelled like road kill. I put on an old dress that, Aunt Babe said, used to belong to my mom.

When I went to find Dante, he was chatting to Uncle Dill. Aunt Babe had made sandwiches and a cup of tea was waiting for me. They were so warm and welcoming to both of us. It wasn't until Aunt Babe asked if Dante would stay for dinner that he started heading for the door.

"Will I ever see you again?" I asked once my aunt and uncle went back inside. We were standing at his bike, facing each other almost awkwardly.

"You think I'm bailing on you?" Dante asked, indignant.

"Aren't you?"

"Of course not." Dante swung his leg over the bike, and turned to face me. "Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."

"Like what?" I asked blankly.

He gave me a look, and I felt my plans crumble into dust around me. "You're not serious?"

"I know-"

"No, I'm _getting rid of it_, Dante. You can't expect me to go through with this. I can't do it."

Dante opened his mouth, and I could see his thoughts swarming through his gaze. He closed his mouth and sat back on the bike, looking at me tiredly. "I won't force you," he finally said. "I'll come back for you."

I was dragging myself back into the apartment when Aunt Babe said, "What a nice young man. Will we be seeing more of him?"


	38. Touch of Heart

**Claire is chewing her nails and staring blankly at the computer screen. "I suck at romance. Mix, where're you?" she says in frustration.**  
**"URG," her muse, the superb and awesome yummy Mikael, aka Mix, appears, mainly because he can't stand it when she uses words like where're because it's not a real word. Although MS Word says otherwise.**  
**"Hehehe. Haaaai," she smiles at her irate muse.**  
**"What do I get out of this?" He stands off to the side, not too close, because Claire has tricks up her sleeve to pull him into her writing without him realizing (like now).**  
**"Perfect grammar?" Claire says sweetly.**  
**"Don't kid yourself."**  
**"Okay. How about a biscuit?" Claire says in a sing-song voice.**  
**"Make that ten," Mikael says flatly.**  
**"Isn't that a bit excessive?" Claire asks.**  
**"Okay, fifteen, or no deal," Mikael says, slumping down into the couch beside her and planting his feet on the coffee table beside her computer.**  
**I don't get why I can write this gibberish and not the actual story.**  
**"Because I want biscuits," Mikael interjects Claire's thoughts.**  
**"...Okay, whatever. I'll get you biscuits!"**  
**"_Fifteen_."**  
**"Yeah, I got that, Mix."**  
**"Choc chip."**  
**"Ugh, I'm gonna be sick," Claire says, her motivation for writing coupled with unhealthy sugar snacks starting to wear thin on her.**  
**"And mallowtoffs," Mikael says, tilting his head back into the couch and folding his arms across his chest. Like he's got this in the bag already.**  
**"Mallowtoffs are not biscuits," Claire points out.**  
**"Are you calling the deal off?" Mikael lowers his head to look at her, surprised.**  
**"Choc chip biscuits or no deal."**  
**"...how'd you do that?" he asks, leaning forward suspiciously.**  
**"Do what?"o_0**  
**"Turn this conversation around! How'd you suddenly get control over the situation?"**  
**Claire smiles cheekily. "I just stopped caring."**  
**Mikael pouts.**  
**"Choc chip biscuits or nothing. Take it or leave it."**  
**"I'll take it." Mikael caves in.**

**A/N: SORRY!**

~...~

Falling.  
I was falling at lightning speed - or maybe I was flying? My head was spinning, my heart was floating high in my chest, and everything else felt like it had dropped away from me. The only thing that was real was him - the feel of his silky hair between my fingers, the contours of his body cradled against mine, the sparks his touch sent under my skin, like he was setting me on fire. It was absolute heaven. He changed the pressure of his lips on mine, slowing the deep, burning kiss into small, soft, sweet little kisses.

A knock on the door. "Are you two still in there? You'll be late for your movie." Aunt Babe's voice.  
"I don't like that they keep that door closed," Uncle Dill muttered weakly.

I sighed against Dante's lips, and he smiled. He kissed me once more, and pulled away. I opened my eyes and blinked up at him, feeling like I'd just been dragged from a beautiful dream.

"Do we have to go?" I mumbled, nestling my head in the crook of his neck. He ran his fingers slowly up and down the length of my back, sending a shiver through me. He stopped, fingers lingering. I kissed his neck softly, making my way up toward his ear.

"Yeah," Dante said, and tightened his arms around me when I flicked my tongue across his skin. "Yeah, definitely time to go."

"Aww," I moaned when he disengaged himself from me and sat up on my bed.

He gave me a look. "You know we can't let things get out of control."

_Control, control, control. You're starting to sound like your brother._

I shifted away from him and glanced around my small, modest room, feeling my mood drop at his words. He just had to remind me of the thing growing inside of me. It was like Vergil was still coming between us, even though I've been away from Metropolis for a good five months, and neither of us had ever mentioned Vergil or the psycho's spawn inside of me. Yet, Vergil was still haunting us.

Damn him to hell.

I looked over at Dante. He was pulling his boots on, his way of making a run for it. There'd been the one off occasion a few months ago, when he'd come over for a week, that things had gotten 'out of control'. He'd been wasted, having stumbled in from one or the other bar, completely disorientated about where he was or how he'd even gotten to my place. Wasted to the extent where, when he'd woken up the next morning, he was shocked that it had been me and not some stripper girl.

Ever since, he'd been cautious about going _there_ again. To my complete and total disappointment.

"What?" he asked when he caught me staring.

"I want you, Dante."

"I can't do this right now," Dante groaned, and stumbled for the doorknob when I got off the bed. "Cora, c'mon."

"Why not?" I pleaded, restraining myself from leaning up against him.

"It's... don't look at me like that... I want to I just... I can't..."

"You're grappling," I said. "Just be straight with me. It's because of this, isn't it?" I jabbed a finger at my slightly swollen stomach.

"What?" Dante frowned at me, and shook his head angrily. "No. I don't want to complicate things."

"Oh, right," I said tightly, and gave him a little shove aside to fling open the door. "Because things could get more complicated, right? What a lame ass excuse."

Dante grabbed my arm and forced me to stop. "You've no idea just how complicated things already are."

"Whatever." I glared at him. "Are we going to the movies or what?"

Uncle Dill lent us his car because he was worried about me falling off Dante's bike. The drive to the cinemas was quiet. I didn't break the silence until I felt something stir inside my stomach. I glanced over at Dante, who looked like he was lost in his own thoughts.

"How's Eva and your baby brother doing?" I finally asked.

For a moment I thought he was ignoring me. Then he looked at me with half a smile. "Holding strong, all things considered."

Eva had gone into labour a week ago - a month early. From what I'd heard, it was a messy, traumatic experience, and that it had been touch and go for both her and the baby. They were both still in intensive care, which is why Dante had been calling home for updates every day for the past three days. It was unnerving that he was risking calling Vergil - the brain of the bunch, I'm sure it wouldn't take much for him to track us down now - but there'd been no stopping Dante.

"Good," I nodded, and pursed my lips to stare out the window again.

"So..."

"So?" I looked at him curiously.

"Uh... never mind. We'll talk about it later."

The movie was good - an action adventure with strong comedy themes. My head was swimming with the memory of kick-ass scenes and witty one liners when we walked out of the cinemas a couple of hours later. We bought Chinese takeaways for dinner and sat at the local ice rink to eat and laugh at the epic wipe-outs. Life had never been this normal before. Not with Dante around, that is.

No demons to fight off, no hawk-like parents to worry about, no annoying brother to crash our party. I could ignore the thing in my belly, and pretend that we were just like all the other young couples hanging around. We were in love, and happy, and carefree. We kissed, we cuddled, we threw our chopsticks at a small group of douche bags that made some obscene remark at me, and we ran, skidding and sliding, across the ice when they tried to set after us. We laughed our way through the shadowed park, got lost in the local wildlife reserve and, finally, ended up making out on a bench on a small hilltop overlooking the coloured lights of the neighbourhood.

They say the first kiss is the best, but I say they lie. Every kiss was better, deeper, more special than the previous. We eventually broke apart, both of us breathless and hot with desire. I didn't want to move away from him, but I did. My heart did backflips when he pulled me close to his side, and we stared out at the night.

"I don't want you to go away," I said, and looked at him hopefully. I knew, of course, that there was no way he was going to abandon his family for me. Hope was cruel like that.

"About that," Dante said, and wrung his hands together. "Why don't you come home with me?"

I blinked and stared at him, wide-eyed. The question hung between us like a heavy anvil about to drop. I searched his face, for any clue about where he could be coming from. He knew why I couldn't. There were a thousand reasons why I couldn't.

"Why do I get the feeling that's a loaded question?" I asked hesitantly.

"We can work things out better back home," Dante countered.

"Ah...no, I don't think so," I said, frowning hard. I felt my gut churn and something in me harden. "Why the hell would you even consider it?"

"It takes a lot out of me to come here and leave my family behind, Cora."

"I know."

"They need me, especially now with my mom..."

"I know that," I said irritably. "I never asked you to come."

"But you want me to?"

"Of course I do, but that's your choice."

"I don't know how long I can keep doing this for," he said pleadingly. "Would you hold it against me if... I stopped coming around?"

"You mean if you called it quits," I said, and held up my hand when he started to protest. "I wouldn't hold it against you. No." I shrugged and looked away from him. "At least we gave it a try."

"You know," Dante heaved a sigh. "It takes a lot more out of me every time I leave you behind."

"I_ can't_ come back with you, Dante," I snapped, angry. "I've barely just gotten my life back on track here, and besides, your parents don't want me around."

"We both know that's not the real reason," Dante said quietly.

We exchanged a look, and I forced myself to shift away from him. "Maybe the sooner you go, the easier it'll be."

Dante said nothing. He stood up and straightened out his coat. He looked down at me as I crossed my legs on the bench, and shook his head. "You're something, you know that, babe?"

"Please go."

"Alright," Dante said, and then I was alone on the hilltop.

* * *

**...wtf Mikael!?**


	39. One Step Forward

_**Thank you for your lovely reviews guys! :D**_

_**Please go check out the poll on my profile and cast your vote on who you want to see Cora end up with.**_

* * *

The day was drawing to a close. I sat at my bedroom window, watching the sun losing its intensity and heat as the anger inside me increased. The street below was packed with four o'clock traffic. Dante was meant to have arrived on the weekend prior. When he didn't, I assumed he was late, or trying to teach me a lesson. No part of me believed that he wouldn't actually show up. I kept expecting him, a day later, two days, three days. The fourth day was at its end and it was only now that I had to admit to myself that he really wasn't coming.

I shifted my weight when I felt movement in my belly. It was the most unearthly feeling in the world, and I didn't like it.

I'd sworn to myself that I was going to go through with it if Dante didn't show. I'd only kept this thing going because I knew he didn't want me to kill it, even if he didn't say it out loud. If it's over, it's over.

"Aunty Babe?" I called, half turning from the window, but unable to take my eyes from it. Just incase. Oh how cruel hope could be!

"Cora?" Aunt Babe called back.

"Has Dante called here while I've been out?"

"No, hun."

I pursed my lips and turned away from the window. No skin off my back. Or, at least, I tried to convince myself that.

"I'm going out, Aunt Babe," I called while I pulled on my coat.

"Don't be too long! Dinner will be soon!"

I hurried from the apartment, keeping my head down as I marched into the autumn winds and joined the foot traffic on the sidewalk outside. I'd had this appointment rescheduled about a hundred times since Dante first brought me here. Never cancelled, just delayed, and each time I had to listen to the nurse telling me the longer I waited, the harder it would be.

Like anything could be harder than knowing I was carrying Vergil's kid. Yeah, right. I wanted it out of me for so long that, in my mind, I've gotten past that point. I felt no connection. I felt no guilt, or hesitation, or remorse. I wanted to kill it, and try and get on with my life.

If Dante was really gone – and with every step I took toward the clinic, I grew more certain that he _was_ – then the only thing holding me back from opening a new chapter in my life was this parasite inside me. The clinic was a modest standalone building between a beauty spa and a motel. I walked in and went straight to reception.

"I have an appointment with Nurse Mary."

"Sure, take a seat and she'll be with you shortly," the elderly receptionist smiled at me.

I stuck my hands in my pockets and sank down onto one of the red leather chairs. There were colourful paintings of unfamiliar cities hung on the walls. I stared at one with blue buildings and a yellow bridge, wondering how long I'd have to sit and wait, when I heard my name.

"Cora Evans?"

I looked up, and forced a small smile at the woman who came up to greet me. "Hi. Follow me, please."

I followed her from the reception area down a maze of corridors to a dimly lit room with a bed and some equipment I didn't recognise.

"Alright. You're here for an abortion, correct?"

"Yes."

"Lie down for me, will you, dear?"

I got onto the bed and awkwardly lay down. It was becoming increasingly uncomfortable just lying on my back. Good riddance to that, too.

"Now, you've filled out all the necessary forms, yes?"

"Yes."

"And your choice of abortion is still the D&E?"

"I think so. Will I get whatever comes out?"

"What do you mean, dear?"

"I mean, will I get to take the remains home?"

"You mean the medical waste, hun. No, we generally don't allow our patients to do that. It's just easier and more hygienic for us to get rid of it so you don't have to deal with that, on top of everything else."

"Could you make an exception?"

The nurse paused at reading her notes, and gave me a puzzled look. "What are you planning on doing with it?"

I shrugged in response. "Is there a different way I can do this so that I _can_ keep it?"

"I can give you the pill. It's easy, effective, but a lot harder," the nurse looked at my belly. "Let's have a look and see how far the pregnancy is before we decide, shall we?"

"Whatever," I shrugged.

The nurse had me pull my top up to reveal my belly, and squirted cold, blue stuff from a tube onto it. She pressed something that looked like a microphone hard against my belly and turned her attention to the small TV screen beside the bed. I kept my gaze locked straight on the ceiling above me. I waited for the gasp, or some kind of indication that the thing inside me was a demon.

Instead, all the nurse said was, "It looks about twenty two weeks and four days. You haven't had any medical problems or health problems in the past, have you?"

"No."

"We usually don't do abortions this late in pregnancy…." She said distractedly, moving the thing across my belly, this way and that, lower down and harder. "Hmm. Do you want to have a look at it, hun?"

I closed my eyes and sighed hard. "No."

"Do you want to know what it is?"

"No."

"I'd recommend we do it here at the clinic, just to be safe, in case any complications arise…"

"I want the pill, please. Nothing else."

"Alright. Will you have support around you?"

"Yes."

The nurse hung the microphone thing up on the machine and wiped my belly with a paper towel. "I'll give you some pain killers and a number you can call for immediate assistance, if things go wrong."

"Great."

"It's policy that I inform you that whichever method you choose, there will be some level of pain involved. A lot of it depends on your pain threshold, some women have minor cramps, others have a harder time coping with the pain. The pain relief will help some but it won't take the pain away."

"I can handle it," I said, sitting up and yanking my blouse down.

"Alright. I'll be back in a minute."

I watched her leave, and glanced at the now blank screen. I pulled my coat tighter around me and got off the bed just as she returned with a plastic cup of water and a small container with several pills inside.

"Drink up, hun."

I obeyed. The pills tasted mildly sweet before they went down my throat.

"Can you lie back down for me?"

"Why?" I asked, frowning.

"I'll give your cervix a sweep. It will help speed things along."

I apprehensively got back on the bed, and felt my face flame up when I had to remove my pants and lay spread eagle. I didn't like feeling vulnerable like that. I liked the sweep thing even less because it was intrusive, and it _hurt._

"You'll experience mild to moderate cramping in the next 24 hours, like a bad period. You'll pass the pregnancy within 48 hours. If you need assistance, give this number a call and we'll get someone out to you as soon as we can. I'd like to see you again in three days' time…"

"What for?" I interrupted.

"To make sure everything is going accordingly." She finally stepped away and pulled the sterile gloves from her hands. "You can get dressed now and leave when you feel ready. Good luck!"

I didn't waste time pulling my pants back on, and then I just sat for a minute, feeling a bit sore, and humiliated. I gritted my teeth when I felt the thing inside of me kick, and got up off the bed. I left the clinic as I'd entered it, with my head kept down and my pace firm.

It was a relief to be gone from that sterile place. The cool wind whipped my hair around me, and I snuggled my face deeper into my coat. The traffic was heavier now, the sky losing light, the air growing colder every minute. I felt like I'd stepped into heaven when I got back to the apartment and was met with a tsunami of warmth from the fireplace.

"Where have you been?" Uncle Dill asked in mild interest.

"Out for a walk."

"Oh, you're back! Good!" Aunt Babe said. "I was worried your food was going to get cold!"

"I'll go eat in my room, thanks, Aunty."

I didn't actually eat. My food went cold on my dresser, and I sat watching stupid sitcom after sitcom, waiting in anticipation. I literally counted the hours down, long after everyone had gone to bed, and still when the sun rose again. My thoughts waned about how heartbroken Aunt Babe would be once she discovered what I'd done – for some ridiculous reason she was excited about this pregnancy – and how I could avoid her finding out by moving away as soon as possible. My gleeful excitement at the thought of sending the remains of this thing to the Sparda residence, addressed to Vergil, with a little note saying _fuck you, _began to waver as the clock ticked over the next hour, and the next.

Maybe they'd tricked me. Maybe they didn't give me the right pills. Maybe I was paranoid. Maybe I was cramping but just didn't feel the pain. Or maybe it wasn't working.

My head felt thick with mental exhaustion when I finally dragged myself from my room. I walked down the hall to the kitchen, contemplating going back to the clinic or calling the number they'd given me. I blindly opened the fridge through habit and stared at the contents.

"Coffee, Cora," Aunt Babe said behind me in the cosy little kitchen. "With cream. You know how Dill likes his coffee."

"Yes, Aunty," I said, reaching for the tub of cream before kicking the fridge door closed behind me.

"That boy of yours isn't coming over today, is he?" I looked up at her perfectly painted face, at her blue-grey eyes speckled with warm gold, now studying me with careful consideration.

"No. I don't know." I muttered, lowering my gaze from hers quickly and rinsing a cup from the sink.

"Do you want me to phone Eva?" Aunt Babe asked gently.

"I don't know what I want." I shrugged. I dried my hands on the dishcloth and went over to flick on the kettle.

"You look tired. Have you been sleeping alright, honey?"

"No." I mumbled and paused when her hand cupped over my shoulder. I don't sleep.

"How is school? Made any friends yet?"

"I've made acquaintances," I said. "It's not the same. All my friends are back in the city."

"Well. You just keep your chin up, and keep pushing forward," Aunt Babe said, tapping me lightly on the cheek. "You'll do fine on your own. I promise."

"Sure," I said meekly and watched her glide from the kitchen. The familiar fiery ache that came with the image of Dante died quickly into cold numbness, and I gathered a couple more cups together to make us coffee. It was best not to feel at all. I could function without breaking down in tears.

I crouched down and opened the cupboards, pushing aside containers and cans until I finally found the bag of instant coffee. The kettle's whistling lost its volume when it finished boiling, in time for me to hear the familiar purr of a motorbike. I dropped the teaspoon I was holding and skipped over to lean across the kitchen sink and peek out through the window, not wanting to believe my ears. My heart bounced up into my head and my throat swelled with tears of euphoria when I glimpsed a bike standing in the drive. It was left standing, the engine still running, and a helmet was secured on the backseat. And it was blue.

My chest pulled tight and my heart fell hard and fast through my feet, bringing with it an intense sense of dread. What was _he_ doing here? Well, what a stupid question, I thought when I heard the doorbell go. What else could make Vergil drive three hours straight to get to me?

I heard the front door open, and Aunt Babe's voice. "We weren't expecting you. Come on in, Cora's just in the..." Silence.

Abrupt, frightening, absolute silence. The dread inside of me took on a life of its own and scrambled in every direction in my body. My first instinct was to run and hide – in the hallway closet, under the bed, in the pantry, anywhere – but I couldn't. I had to go to my aunt and uncle. I had to protect them from Vergil. The silence became eerie. I forced myself toward the doorway leading into the lounge. My heart thundered in my ears with every step. Something was very, very wrong.

Blood. I could smell fresh blood – a rich, refreshing, tangy scent that weaved its way into my senses. I reached the threshold and stopped to stare at the lounge. Uncle Dill was sitting in his armchair by the window, his one hand resting on the radio, the other on his walking cane leaned up against his legs. A large gash ran all the way down from his left shoulder to his right hip, like a photograph torn in two. Aunt Babe was lying on the floor by the open front door in a pond of her own blood. Vergil was standing over her body, and lifted his head toward me. His features swam in front of my eyes.

"You knew I'd come for you, didn't you?" Vergil said silkily.

"What have you done?!" The voice shrieking from my lips wasn't mine. I didn't sound like that, like some petrified animal squealing at the stake. It encouraged the fear, and I had to grab onto the cabinet beside me to keep myself standing. Vergil sheathed the katana, and strolled toward me with the cold expression of a killer. "No!"

"I don't have time to fight with you," Vergil said, grabbing my arms and twisting them into a helpless position in front of me. "You will come with me, or there will be consequences."


	40. Wicked Spells

I couldn't resist his pull, and all I could see were the mutilated bodies of my last remaining blood relatives, and all I could smell was the stench of death chilling the warmth of their blood. I didn't scream again. Something had lodged itself in the back of my throat, pulling tighter and tighter until I could barely breathe through it. Vergil was still staring down at me, holding me locked and trapped before him, but I didn't fight and I didn't look at him.

"You will do exactly as I say. Are we clear?"

I wanted to hurt him. Through the surreal haze of shock, there was the one little spark that ignited and blazed through the confusion. Nothing mattered but reciprocating what he'd done to me, but I was trembling so bad that if he hadn't been holding me, I'd have collapsed.

"You…" I managed to wheeze out past the lump. _You've broken me. You've ripped out my heart_.

"And now it belongs to me," he said softly.

I blinked, and finally looked up at him. Too close, way too close to me. I could hear the instinctive buzz before little golden sparks started dancing across my skin. It didn't seem to be hurting him enough to let go – his grip only tightened on me.

"What did you just say?" I whispered, even though I'd heard him right. My eyes filled against my will and his features blurred. I felt every part of me come undone. A shaky sob worked its way to my lips._ "What did you just say?"_

He leaned in closer to me and for a second, I thought he was going to try to kiss me. Instead, his lips grazed across my cheek to my ear, and his voice breathed strange words into my mind. I stopped physically shaking, and the sparks subsided, and when he let me go, I was no longer in control of myself.

I remember the infuriating frustration of wanting to look at my deceased relatives, just one more time, but being unable to look away from Vergil's eyes or resist taking the hand he offered to lead me outside.

I can't remember the long drive back to the city at all.

I was in shock, or maybe the demon in me had taken over again, because I couldn't remember much of anything thereafter. I was there, but I wasn't present; I know there was interaction, but my mind wasn't taking it in. I got home. I saw Eva. I saw Sparda – that's one thing I'd never forget, the look on his face when he saw me again. I glimpsed Dante with someone else in the family den.

I don't remember what was said, or what the general feeling was. I was stuck in a body that was no longer mine. I wasn't in control of my words or actions, I was living a life that I had no say in. I don't know how long this lasted for, I could never be fully sure.

What I did know was that Vergil was behind it. He was my every thought. I barely left his side. I didn't talk to anyone much when he wasn't with me, and when he was with me, I didn't talk at all. I knew that, in the far back of my mind, a very small part of me wanted to rebel against him. But I couldn't even feel that anymore. For the most part, I just didn't care. The overwhelming compulsion to submit to him was too strong for me to even think to defy him.

Crafty, powerful, and sharp in mind. Vergil most certainly was these things, I'd give him that much. Lucky for me, one thing he wasn't was humble. Big heads eventually get too big and topple off too small shoulders.

He'd started to loosen his hold on me. It happened gradually, discreetly, and I kept it quiet when my thoughts became mine again. I said nothing when the rage returned, spitting and exploding like a red-hot volcano inside of me. Slowly, I began remembering things I'd done the day before, things I'd said and done that morning.

Short term memories, I realised, when I happened to walk in on Dante and a stranger getting friendly in the bathroom late one evening. I'd been on my hundredth trip to the toilet, waddling down the dark hallway, and threw the bathroom door open just as a giggle erupted.

By the surprised looks on their faces, and the lack of awkwardness or guilt on Dante's, I figured they must have been an item for a while. Dante was half-dressed, and she was in nothing but a towel.

"Sorry!" the girl quipped, pulling Dante from the bathroom with her and leaving me, staring after them in shock.

Later the same evening, I was munching on chips in the kitchen, watching movement in my belly. I was wondering how I'd managed to double in size, from my last memory, and how come those damn abortion pills hadn't worked, when the room lit up from the fridge light.

"Oh, Cora. I didn't see you there."

"Hmm," I mumbled, my usual response. I was still staring at my belly, but managed to tear my gaze from it to look at the girl. She was pretty. A sweet face, short black hair, slender. At least she wasn't another curvy stripper girl, or worse – Lorry.

She looked like she wanted to say something more, but decided against it and took a couple of beers out of the fridge instead. "Good night," she said vaguely as she started for the door.

"Hang on," I said.

We both paused for a minute, surprised that I'd spoken. Oh, Vergil was definitely loosening the leash.

"Uh… sure. What's up?" She asked, glancing down the hallway before coming over to slip into the seat beside me.

"Are you and Dante serious?" I finally found the words.

"I guess we are. Why'd you ask?" she asked.

"How long have you known him for?"

"Not too long." The girl looked at me cautiously. "Vergil introduced us."

"He did?" I asked, startled.

The girl shifted in her seat and crossed her legs before leaning an elbow on the counter. "Yes. Vergil and Eva need my help with some… wait, hasn't Vergil told you?"

"Help with what?"

I thought she was going to run away because her body language read as much. "I'm… I'm helping them with a spell."

"So you're a witch."

"No, I'm a medium. I just happen to know witchcraft."

"Wow, this keeps getting better," I said, not at all surprised. "What spell are you working on?"

"We're working on a spell to reverse the effects of demon DNA."

"With Vergil?" I asked, a bit too loudly. I glanced toward the door, and then grabbed her wrist. "Come with me."

She didn't resist when I led her through the little storage room off the kitchen and into the wide hallway that took us to the other, lesser used wing of the mansion.

"Tell me a bit more about this spell," I said once we've reached the shadows of one of the alcoves that led to another room. The door was locked, as I'd expected, so I made myself as comfortable as I could on the hard, cold marble floor.

The girl followed my example, looking around in the dim moonlight. "I didn't know this part of the house even existed."

"This place is loaded with secrets," I agreed. "So about the spell?"

"Well like I said, it's to reverse the effects of demon DNA. We've spent ages trying to find a way to destroy it, to make an elixir that would make the human cells attack the foreign bodies and become the dominator. We tried spells and recipes to have the demon DNA rejected but we did more harm than good. So we've concluded that, since we can't exorcise it, we could subdue it…"

I was tracing the scars on one of my arms, listening intently. "What do you mean by subdue?"

"Make the demon DNA stagnant."

"And this would reverse the effects?"

"In time."

"But it would still be there."

"Yes, but it would be dormant. It's Plan B."

"You're really clever," I muttered, and sighed hard. "So that's what he's using you for. To create the cure."

"I wouldn't call it a cure. More like a way of managing his demon side."

A surprised giggle escaped from my lips, and I slapped my hand across my mouth. "Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh at you. Listen. Are there any other spells you've helped him with?"

"A few, from time to time," she said cagily.

"Any that might happen to help with controlling demons?"

"No. Many of our spells to evacuate the demon DNA did prove to be more effective in controlling it than destroying it, but those were all… failed attempts to get to the real deal."

"Were they?" I asked tightly as the grim reality settled in. So. That's how he was doing it. Whatever spell he'd used this time was good, but wearing off. I wonder if he knew it would.

"I don't understand what you're implying? I'm helping Vergil to control his demonic genetics…"

"And Dante?" I interrupted.

"Dante is being very supportive of it."

"He believes this crap?" I asked, feeling a stab of betrayal.

"What?" She asked, thoroughly lost.

We looked at one another in the dark. "What's your name?" I asked quietly.

"You… Kat. I'm Kat. Cora, what's wrong with you?"

"Kat. Will you help me?"

"I guess I can try? What do you need help with?"

"I need a couple of spells."

"For your baby?" Kat asked, sounding relieved, as if she'd finally found her feet again in this conversation.

"No. I need one that restores long and short term memory."

"Sure, I can help you with that."

"And I need one that blocks all other spells."

"Oh…okay? You know they won't work together, right?"

"No, that one would be for me. The memory one would be for Dante. If you don't mind," I said, shifting onto my knees.

"For Dante?" Kat repeated, getting to her feet quickly and helping me to mine.

"Vergil has this thing for pushing the delete button on certain events in Dante's head."

"What? Why would he do that?" Kat asked, sounding horrified.

"Lies don't work if people already know the truth, that's why. Please don't tell anyone about this. Not even Dante. Vergil can read our minds. Nothing is safe," I whispered as we headed back toward the kitchen.

"You can trust me," Kat said equally quiet. "I really mean that."

"I really appreciate it," I said.

"I'll meet you back here in the morning," Kat said, and gave my hand a reassuring squeeze before she glided through the dark kitchen, swept up the two beers and disappeared out the door.

I stood, staring after her for a second.

"Girl time, I presume?"

_"Holy shit!"_ I yelped, jerking away from the shadow that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere beside me.

Sparda let out an amused chuckle and shook his head as he closed the door behind him. "What were you two snooping down there for?"

I stared back at him for a moment, my heart still beating sickeningly hard against my ribs. It wasn't Vergil, but that didn't give me much comfort. I didn't know how to answer him, I could barely think through the shrill ringing in my head.

"I have to go to bed," I mumbled shakily.

"Alright then," I heard Sparda say as I fled the kitchen.

It was tough going into Vergil's room. I had no choice in this as my old bedroom had been turned into the nursery, and feigning sleep on the couch downstairs was not an option, considering Vergil knew I didn't sleep. I didn't want to give him any signals that I was returning to my old self.

Suck it up.

I stepped into the room, closing the door softly behind me. I could see his shape under the covers on the bed, could tell from the slight change in his breathing that I'd woken him. I trailed over to the computer and lowered myself into the seat with a grunt. When the monitor came to life, I saw in my peripheral sight Vergil lying on his side, facing toward me, watching me.

I hoped he didn't question what I was doing. I barely knew. I could vaguely recall doing something on the computer the night before, and it was only because the computer was set to saving the history that I knew exactly what I ought to be faking.

I opened up a page on some baby website with pictures of cribs and price tags beside them.

"Is the little one awake?" Vergil asked from the shadows.

I frowned when the thing inside me moved, as if in response to his voice. It then proceeded to give me a jab in the ribs. Great.

"Yes," I said.

"Come lie down."

I obeyed before my mind could catch up and even think otherwise. I crawled under the blankets beside him, and found no tension in myself when he pulled me close. Part of me was raging at me for being a puppet, but I could offer no physical resistance. My belly slumped uncomfortably to the side, and it took me a long moment before I could find a less painful position. Unfortunately this happened to be with my legs entwined with Vergil's, using his body as a buffer against mine, and my forehead resting in the crook of his neck. His arm slid under my pillow and his other hand was warm on my belly.

The thing inside me kicked against his hand, and I in turn wanted to kick Vergil. This was too comfortable to my liking, and he smelled too damn good. I kept thinking about the cribs, using that as my safety buoy until Vergil drifted back to sleep. Then all I could think about were the spells and how many hours were left until morning.


	41. Take Your Revenge

**~...~**

Kat sneaked me a small, green bottle with what looked like less than a sip of liquid while I was helping Eva with breakfast the following morning. Eva didn't notice, and Vergil had left my side for a minute when Sparda called for help at the backdoor with a box of tools in his arms. She was in and out of the kitchen so fast that not even Vergil knew any better.

I wanted to ask her how long it would take to work, how long it would last for, and I wanted to thank her. I decided to empty the contents of the bottle into my cup of tea instead, my back turned to Vergil, and went to sit down beside him as I sipped at it eagerly. He put his hand on my belly.

"How are you doing this morning?" he asked, watching me practically downing my tea.

"Good. Scared," I said, and froze in surprise. Did I just say that out loud?

"That's normal, sweetheart," Eva said, and we both looked at her as she placed a plate of pancakes on the counter. "Baby is due this week, isn't it? It's normal to get jittery about labour. You'll get over that soon enough."

I stared back at her, suddenly feeling very sick and terrified. I looked down at my ginormous stomach, back up at her, and got up when Vergil tried to rub my back. I gulped down my tea, as much as it felt like it was scalding my throat and insides, as I made my way to the sink. I stood for a second as the world around me seemed to snap into perfect, crystal clear reality, and leaned weakly against the sink.

"Are you alright?" Eva asked worriedly.

"Come sit down," Vergil appeared beside me, taking my hand.

I let him help me back over to my stool, and fought to keep from throwing up. I had to put my head down on my arms, and closed my eyes when the thing inside me kicked hard. Somebody was rubbing my back, and Eva was talking to me in a calm, comforting voice. I could finally breathe again when the taste in my mouth dissipated. I slowly straightened up on my stool and looked at Eva's sympathetic expression and Vergil's confused one.

"Maybe you should go have a lie down."

"I think you're right," Vergil said. He took my hand again and helped me off the stool. I followed him to the family den and sank down onto one of the couches.

"I'll get you some water," Vergil said. "Stay here."

I watched him leave and looked down at my belly again. _This week_. That was insane. I couldn't, nor did I want to, go through labour. I wanted this thing out of me, yesterday. I wanted to kill Vergil. I wanted to hurt him before I killed him. Poison. Sword. Gun? Which would be the most sufficient to kill this thing but keep me alive?

I tried to blank out my thoughts when Vergil reappeared with a glass of water. Eva was behind him with a small bundle of blue in her arms.

"I have a doctor's appointment in town. If you need me, you know how to reach me," Eva said, and smiled warmly at me. "You'll be fine, Cora. Just rest as much as you can and we'll have a chat later."

I gave her a small wave and grimaced at the glass Vergil was holding to me. I took it but didn't drink it.

"You don't need to be nervous. Everything will be fine," he was saying just as Kat appeared in the doorway.

"Hey," she greeted. "Dante's looking for you."

Vergil glanced at her impatiently, and gave my leg a little pat. "Drink up and lie down. I'll be with you in a moment."

I watched him leave the room and signalled to Kat to stay behind his back. She hung back, watching him. Then, finally, she turned to look at me again.

"Did you drink it yet?"

"Yeah," I said, pushing myself off the couch. "And Dante?"

"I snuck him some good stuff while he was sleeping last night. I think that's why he wants to see Vergil."

I grabbed her arms and gave her a little shake to stop talking. "Get out of here, Kat. You need to leave this place."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm going to burn this fucker to the ground."

"You're _what?_" Kat gasped, taken aback.

"I'm telling you because I don't want you to get hurt. Get out before it's too late. Take Dante with you. Just get out while you can," I said hurriedly, strolling to the front door and grabbing the bike keys. I stopped suddenly, and spun to face her.

"Where's my dog?"

"What dog?" Kat asked worriedly. "Cora, I don't think that potion agrees with you."

He killed my hellhound, too, then. The. Fucking_. Bastard_.

"Just calm down and think for a second…" Kat was saying.

"I warned you. I'm sorry. I have to do this."

I closed the door behind me and scrambled onto Vergil's bike. It was a whole lot harder to do with a double-watermelon-sized torso in the way, but I managed far quicker than I'd expected. I pealed down the road toward town, every part of me burning with revenge.

Sweet_, sweet_ revenge.

I'd always known that I'd never be able to kill Vergil myself. But I certainly knew who could do the job. I pulled up outside the Hot Spot, feeling a pang of familiarity at the sight of it. I went inside and savoured the almost homely smell of sulphur that enveloped me upon entry. The bar was shady and smoky, as always, and Yt seemed amused to see me again.

"The usual?" he asked.

"Nothing. All I want is the location where I can find Kurst."

"It's gonna cost you…"

"_Your life_ if you try to mess me around," I said sweetly. "I have to go see him. Tell me where he is."

Yt cocked his head to the side. "Last I heard, he was headed over to see his master to give report."

"You mean he's gone to Hell."

"I'm sure you'll have no trouble finding him."

I shot him the bird and left in a huff. Unlike the others, I knew there was a hellgate in the country side, roughly forty miles north of the Sparda residence. It was a well hidden one deep within the pit of a cave. Getting to it was pretty much straightforward. Getting through it into hell was just as easy.

It was navigating my way through hell that became a bit tricky, and before I knew it, several smart-ish demons had ceased me and took me to their master. For credit, or recognition, or to win favour, I have no idea – they kept hissing something about me carrying great power and that their master would, or wouldn't, be pleased about it.

It turned out to be the latter.

Their master also happened to be Mundus himself. He was bigger and a bit better looking than I'd imagined, and incredibly displeased when I was dragged into his court. He took one look at me – or maybe three, considering he had three eyes – and I could feel instant dislike radiate from him.

Lucky for me, Kurst just so happened to be right next to him. They'd been discussing something and both had stopped to turn to me when the grovelling demons around me drew their attention.

"Be done away with her and whatever she carries," Mundus said in a thunderous voice.

I looked at Kurst pointedly, who stepped forward when the demons holding me hostage squealed in disappointment.

"I'll take care of it," Kurst said, removing me from the other demons.

It wasn't until we were alone and a good distance away from the court that he finally spoke to me.  
"What are you doing here, little one?"

"I was looking for you."

"Oh?" He clearly hadn't expected this as he looked back at me with curiosity in his red eyes.

"I have a proposition for you."

**~…~**

The air was still, the sun high in the mid-day sky. We came to the Sparda residence under a veil of silence and swiftness. Certainly Sparda would sense the legion of warrior and hunter demons surrounding the grounds, but I fully believed that Sparda would be able to fight them off. Vergil, on the other hand, wouldn't. He had brains and some really smart moves, but he wouldn't hold up well against an army without Dante. Or, that's what I kept telling myself anyway.

The mansion was quiet. I hoped that Kat and Dante had left already, as I'd asked. In the distance I couldn't see Dante's bike in the driveway, and Eva's car was nowhere in sight. Perfect timing.

Kurst signalled to his soldiers and they spread out, closing in on the mansion. If Sparda would call me a traitor for handing him over to his enemy on a gold platter, I didn't care. All I wanted was revenge. I wanted to burn this place to the ground, and any memories Vergil had within it. I wanted Vergil to suffer before the inevitable.

I hung around at the back of the second legion of demons – a backup in case Sparda proved too difficult, Mundus had said – a discreet distance away from the mansion. The demons swarmed the place like a wave of black bees descending upon a beehive. I couldn't hear anything from here, no gunshots or sword fight. I saw a part of the mansion crumble to the ground in a massive cloud of grey dust, and then an explosion that made the ground beneath my feet rattle. The place went up in flames, and the army began to retreat.

I saw them dragging Sparda's somewhat mutilated body, and I wondered if he really was dead. They'd caught Vergil, and lucky for me, he was still conscious. A bit out of it, as he was mumbling something and struggling against his captives, and blood was gushing from a nasty wound in his head.

Mundus had blood on his face and shirt. Everyone looked a bit worse for wear. I couldn't help but prance vengefully alongside Vergil as we headed back toward the hellgate. It wasn't until we were physically back in hell that Sparda came to. I made myself scarce before he could lay eyes on me. I heard Mundus order them to chain and bind Sparda and torture him. I didn't think much of it – once he'd recouped, Sparda would break free. Because he was Sparda.

I got to sit in and watch them torment Vergil. They had him chained down, the same as Sparda. Only, they had another demon who specialised in – as Kurst put it – mind-fucking, giving Vergil his full attention. I didn't get to see what exactly this pale, alien-like corpse was putting into Vergil's head, but whatever it was, it had to be pretty good. Vergil had broken out in a sweat and ceaselessly struggled against the chains. He called out many names – Kat came up a couple of times, Eva, too. He was mostly crying out to Dante.

"Let me see," I eventually slapped the demon on the shoulder, breaking his concentration and winning a glowering look from him.

"Don't disrupt me of my orders, girl," he snarled at me.

"I'm bored. It's no fun that I don't get to see what you're doing," I snarled right back.

"You," Vergil rasped hoarsely, drawing our attention back to him. He'd opened his eyes and was staring at me in open rage and horror. "You did this!"

I widened my eyes at him sarcastically. "Surprise!"

"You-you've taken everything from me!"

"Well what goes around comes around now then, doesn't it?" I grinned.

_"You killed them all!"_

I felt my heart drop and I looked at the demon beside me sharply. "You put that in his head, right?" I hissed.

The demon smirked at me, and gave me a friendly nudge with his shoulder. "Let me get back to work, girl."

I looked back at Vergil, and puckered my lips as I got to my feet. "This week, huh?" I said, patting my belly, watching his reaction closely.

His face went almost as white as his hair, cold blue eyes darting from my face to my belly. "No."

"Oh, don't worry. I'll come drop it off to keep you company as soon as it's out," I said icily.

"No… Cora, don't…"

"What are you going to do, Vergil? You can't stop me."

He strained against the chains so hard, I thought they might actually give. His eyes were wild and rage distorted his regal features.

"When I get out of here, I'm going to find you," he growled furiously, not once wavering in his strain.

"You won't find me. You'll never find me. Do you know why?" I said angrily, and I couldn't even muster a spiteful smile. "You will _never_ again be free."

I left the fiery chamber and Vergil's outraged screams followed me.

* * *

**~..~*~...~The End~...~*~...~**

**0_o**

**(Gimme 190 reviews for this fic and I'll put the sequel up asap.)**


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